Over-the-door hanging apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for hanging an article from a door. In one aspect, the apparatus may be an over-the-door hanging apparatus that includes a support structure and a bracket assembly. The bracket assembly includes at least one mounting element for coupling the bracket assembly to the support structure, at least one bracket configured to engage a top edge of a door for hanging the support structure from the door, and a decorative portion. A portion of the decorative portion may protrude from a top edge of the support structure when the bracket assembly is coupled to the support structure. In another aspect, the apparatus may include an accessory hook coupled to the support structure. The accessory hook may include an arm that protrudes from a perimetric edge of the support structure and a hook member extending from the arm upon which various articles may be hung.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/405,325, filed Oct. 7, 2016. The presentapplication is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/652,586, filed Jul. 18, 2017, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/475,963, filed Mar. 31, 2017, whichin turn is: (1) a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/297,291, filed Oct. 19, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,622,600; and(2) claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/405,325, filed Oct. 7, 2016.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/297,291, filed Oct. 19, 2016, is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/084,102, filed Mar.29, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,480,350, which in turn: (1) claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/216,703,filed Sep. 10, 2015; and (2) is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/747,656, filed Jun. 23, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No.9,386,867.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/747,656, filed Jun. 23, 2015, is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/300,834,filed Jun. 10, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,060,627, which in turn is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/028,839, filed Sep.17, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,746,644, which in turn is a continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/915,747, filed Oct. 29, 2010, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,534,627, which in turn claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/334,914, filed May 14, 2010.

The entirety of each of the above-referenced applications isincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present invention relates to an over-the-door hanging apparatus.

BACKGROUND

Mirrors are used often in everyday life. For example, the first thingthat a person does after waking up is go to the bathroom and look at himor herself in the mirror. Furthermore, people also typically look atthemselves in the mirror prior to leaving the house to make sure thatthey are pleased with their appearance. A very common room in the homefor a person to desire to have a mirror is in the bedroom or thebathroom. However, there is not always a good place to put a mirror inthose rooms. Therefore, it has been known to hang a mirror on a wall orfrom a door by using adhesives, screws, nails or hangers. Doors havebeen widely used to support mirrors because they provide convenientavailable space, because they may be removed to facilitate mounting ofthe mirror, and because they avoid the necessity of placing wall anchorsin plaster or drywall.

In addition to mirrors, people are often desirous to hang other articlesor objects from a door in order to conserve space while still enjoyingthe benefits of the article. For example, people may desire to hang apainting, picture or some other framed article from a door. Depending onthe person's needs and the space that the person has available, a personmay desire to hang any object that may otherwise be hung or attached toa wall from a door instead.

Typical hangers that enable a user to hang a mirror or other articlefrom a door require a user to assemble the hanger onto the rear of themirror or other article by screwing, gluing or otherwise attaching thehanger directly onto the rear of the mirror or other article. This typeof an installation requires a screw driver or glue, which a user orconsumer does not always have available. Furthermore, in the case of ascrew-type assembly, even if the user has a screwdriver, the user mayfind it difficult to force the screw into the rear of the mirror orother article because the mirror or other article typically does nothave pilot or pre-drilled holes.

Thus, a need exists for an apparatus and/or system that can be used tohang a mirror, piece of art, or other article from a door without theneed for a screw driver or any other tools. A need also exists for anapparatus and/or system that enables a user to hang a mirror, piece ofart, or other article from a door in a matter of seconds without theneed for excessive physical force and with the ability to adjust itshanging height.

SUMMARY

The present invention may be directed, in one aspect, to anover-the-door hanging apparatus comprising: a support structure; abracket assembly comprising: at least one mounting element for couplingthe bracket assembly to the support structure; at least one bracketconfigured to engage a top edge of a door; and a decorative portion; andwherein at least a portion of the decorative portion protrudes from atop edge of the support structure when the bracket assembly is coupledto the support structure.

In another aspect, the invention can be an over-the-door hangingapparatus comprising: a support structure comprising a rear surface anda top edge; and a bracket assembly comprising: at least one bracketconfigured to engage a top edge of a door; and a decorative portion;wherein the bracket assembly is configured to be coupled to the supportstructure to hang the support structure from the door; and wherein thedecorative portion of the bracket assembly is located between the topedge of the support structure and the at least one bracket of thebracket assembly when the bracket assembly is coupled to the supportstructure.

In yet another aspect, the invention can be an over-the-door hangingapparatus comprising: a support structure comprising a front surface, arear surface, and a perimetric edge extending between the front and rearsurfaces; a bracket assembly comprising: at least one mounting elementfor coupling the bracket assembly to the rear surface of the supportstructure; and at least one bracket configured to engage a top edge of adoor; and an accessory hook comprising: at least one mounting elementfor coupling the accessory hook to the rear surface of the supportstructure; and at least one hook member adjacent to and spaced apartfrom the perimetric edge of the support structure when the accessoryhook is coupled to the rear surface of the support structure.

In still another aspect, the invention can be an over-the-door hangingapparatus comprising: a support structure comprising a rear surface anda perimetric edge; a mounting plate secured to the rear surface of thesupport structure, the mounting plate comprising a plurality of edgesthat are vertically spaced apart from one another; a bracket assemblycomprising: at least one mounting element for coupling the bracketassembly to the rear surface of the support structure via slidablemating between at least one of the plurality of edges of the mountingplate and the at least one mounting element of the bracket assembly; andat least one bracket configured to engage a top edge of a door; and anaccessory hook comprising: at least one mounting element for couplingthe accessory hook to the rear surface of the support structure viaslidable mating between at least one of the plurality of edges of themounting plate and the at least one mounting element of the accessoryhook; and at least one hook member adjacent to one of the first andsecond lateral edges of the support structure in a spaced apart manner.

In another aspect, the invention can be an over-the-door hangingapparatus comprising: a support structure comprising a front surface, arear surface, and a perimetric edge extending between the front and rearsurfaces; a bracket assembly comprising: at least one elongate member;at least one mounting element located on the elongate member forcoupling the bracket assembly to the rear surface of the supportstructure; at least one bracket extending from the elongate member andconfigured to engage a top edge of a door; at least one arm extendingfrom the elongate member and protruding from the perimetric edge of thesupport structure when the bracket assembly is coupled to the supportstructure; and a hook member coupled to the at least one arm, the hookmember being spaced apart from the perimetric edge of the supportstructure when the bracket assembly is coupled to the rear surface ofthe support structure.

In another aspect, the invention can be an over-the-door hangingapparatus comprising: a support structure comprising a front surface, arear surface, and a perimetric edge extending between the front and rearsurfaces; a bracket assembly comprising: at least one mounting elementfor coupling the bracket assembly to the support structure; and at leastone bracket configured to engage a top edge of a door; and an accessoryhook coupled to the support structure, the accessory hook comprising anarm that protrudes from the perimetric edge of the support structure anda hook member extending from the arm.

In a further aspect, the invention can be an over-the-door hangingapparatus comprising: a support structure comprising a rear surface; afirst strap and a second strap coupled to the rear surface of thesupport structure on opposite sides of a vertical centerline of thesupport structure, each of the first and second straps forming a loop;and wherein the first strap is configured to wrap around a first uppercorner of a door and the second strap is configured to wrap around asecond upper corner of the door to hang the support structure from thedoor.

In a still further aspect, the invention can be an over-the-door hangingapparatus comprising: a support structure comprising a rear surface; atleast one strap coupled to the rear surface of the support structure;and wherein the at least one strap is configured to wrap at leastpartially around a door to hang the support structure from the door.

In another aspect, the invention can be an over-the-door hangingapparatus comprising: a support structure comprising a rear surface; amounting plate secured to the rear surface of the support structure, themounting plate comprising a first and second edges that are horizontallyspaced apart from one another; a bracket assembly comprising: a firstmounting element and a second mounting element for coupling the bracketassembly to the rear surface of the support structure; and at least onebracket configured to engage a top edge of a door; and wherein thebracket assembly is coupled to the support structure via slidable matingbetween: the first mounting element of the bracket assembly and thefirst edge of the mounting plate; and the second mounting element of thebracket assembly and the second edge of the mounting plate.

In still another aspect, the invention can be a bracket assembly forhanging an article from a door, the bracket assembly comprising: anelongate member extending from a first end to a second end along alongitudinal axis, the elongate member having a front surface and anopposite rear surface, the front surface lying on a plane; a pluralityof hooks extending from the front surface of the elongate member, eachof the hooks having a first end that is coupled directly to the frontsurface of the elongate member and a second free end, and wherein foreach of the hooks a distance between the plane and the hook measured ina direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis decreases withdistance from the first end of the hook to the second end of the hook;and a bracket extending from the rear surface of the elongate member atthe second end of the elongate member, the bracket configured to engagea top edge of a door to hang an article from the door.

In a yet further aspect, the invention can be a bracket assembly forhanging an article from a door, the bracket assembly comprising: anelongate member extending from a first end to a second end along alongitudinal axis, the elongate member having a front surface and anopposite rear surface; a plurality of mounting elements located on theelongate member, the plurality of mounting elements comprising at leastone hook extending from the front surface of the elongate member, atleast one protuberance extending from the front surface of the elongatemember, and at least one aperture formed through the elongate member;and a bracket extending from the rear surface of the elongate member atthe second end of the elongate member, the bracket configured to engagea top edge of a door to hang an article from the door.

In another aspect, the invention can be an over-the-door hangingapparatus comprising: a support structure comprising a rear surface; atleast one groove formed into the rear surface of the support structureand extending from an opening in the rear surface of the supportstructure to a floor, wherein the at least one groove is oblique to therear surface; a bracket assembly comprising: at least one mountingelement for coupling the bracket assembly to the rear surface of thesupport structure; and at least one bracket configured to engage a topedge of a door; and wherein the at least one mounting element of thebracket assembly nests within the at least one groove to couple thebracket assembly to the support structure.

In still another aspect, the invention can be an over-the-door hangingapparatus comprising: a support structure comprising a rear surface; atleast one multi-width slot formed into the rear surface of the supportstructure; a bracket assembly comprising: at least one mounting elementfor coupling the bracket assembly to the rear surface of the supportstructure; and at least one bracket configured to engage a top edge of adoor; and wherein the at least one mounting element of the bracketassembly nests within the at least one multi-width slot to couple thebracket assembly to the support structure.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It shouldbe understood that the detailed description and specific examples, whileindicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended forpurposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective rear view of an over-the-door hanging apparatusin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a close-up view of a top portion of the over-the-door hangingapparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3a is a side view of an elongate member of the over-the-doorhanging apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3b is a perspective view of the elongate member of FIG. 3 a.

FIG. 4a is a perspective view of a mounting plate of the over-the-doorhanging apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4b is a front view of the mounting plate of FIG. 4 a.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the over-the-doorhanging apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional schematic of the over-the-door hangingapparatus of FIG. 1 illustrating the connection between the elongatemember and the mounting plate.

FIG. 7 is a perspective rear view of an over-the-door hanging apparatusin accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the over-the-doorhanging apparatus of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the portion of the over-the-door hangingapparatus of FIG. 7 in accordance with an alternative embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a rear view of an over-the-door hanging apparatus inaccordance with a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the over-the-door hanging apparatus ofFIG. 1 hanging from a top edge of a door.

FIG. 12 is a perspective rear view of an over-the-door hanging apparatusin accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a close-up view of a top portion of the over-the-door hangingapparatus of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14a is a side view of an elongate member of the over-the-doorhanging apparatus of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14b is a perspective view of the elongate member of FIG. 14 a.

FIG. 15a is a perspective view of a mounting plate of the over-the-doorhanging apparatus of FIG. 12.

FIG. 15b is a front view of the mounting plate of FIG. 15 a.

FIG. 16 is an exploded view of a portion of the over-the-door hangingapparatus of FIG. 12.

FIG. 17a is a cross-sectional schematic of the over-the-door hangingapparatus of FIG. 12 showing the connection between the elongate memberand the mounting plate.

FIG. 17b is a cross-sectional schematic of the over-the-door hangingapparatus of FIG. 12 showing the connection between the mounting plateand a door with the elongate member omitted in accordance with analternative embodiment.

FIG. 18a is a side view of an elongate member of the over-the-doorhanging apparatus of FIG. 12 in accordance with an alternativeembodiment.

FIG. 18b is a rear perspective view of the elongate member of FIG. 18 a.

FIG. 19a is a perspective view of a mounting plate of the over-the-doorhanging apparatus of FIG. 12 in accordance with an alternativeembodiment.

FIG. 19b is a front view of the mounting plate of FIG. 19 a.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional schematic of the over-the-door hangingapparatus of FIG. 12 showing the connection between the elongate memberof FIG. 18a and the mounting plate of FIG. 19 a.

FIG. 21A is a perspective view of a portion of an over-the-door hangingapparatus in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present inventionwith an elongate member and a mounting element in a detached state.

FIG. 21B is a perspective view of the portion of the over-the-doorhanging apparatus of FIG. 21A with the elongate member and the mountingelement in an attached state.

FIG. 22A is a perspective view of a portion of an over-the-door hangingapparatus in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the present inventionwith an elongate member and a mounting element in a detached state.

FIG. 22B is a side view of the elongate member of FIG. 22A.

FIG. 22C is a perspective view of the portion of the over-the-doorhanging apparatus of FIG. 22A with the elongate member and the mountingelement in an attached state.

FIG. 23A is a plan view of a portion of an over-the-door hangingapparatus in accordance with a seventh embodiment of the presentinvention with an elongate member and a mounting element in a detachedstate.

FIG. 23B is a side view of the elongate member of FIG. 23A.

FIGS. 23C and 23D are plan views of the portion of the over-the-doorhanging apparatus of FIG. 22A illustrating the manner of coupling theelongate member to the mounting element.

FIG. 24A is a plan view of a portion of an over-the-door hangingapparatus in accordance with an eighth embodiment of the presentinvention with an elongate member and a mounting element in a detachedstate.

FIGS. 24B and 24C are plan views of the portion of the over-the-doorhanging apparatus of FIG. 24A illustrating the manner of coupling theelongate member to the mounting element.

FIG. 25A is a perspective view of a portion of an over-the-door hangingapparatus in accordance with a ninth embodiment of the present inventionwith an elongate member and a mounting element in a detached state.

FIG. 25B is a perspective view of the portion of the over-the-doorhanging apparatus of FIG. 25A with the elongate member and the mountingelement in the attached state.

FIG. 25C is a perspective view of the portion of the over-the-doorhanging apparatus of FIG. 25B illustrating an alternative embodiment ofthe mounting element.

FIG. 25D is a perspective view of the portion of the over-the-doorhanging apparatus of FIG. 25A illustrating still another alternativeembodiment of the mounting element with the elongate member and themounting element in a detached state.

FIG. 25E is a perspective view of the over-the-door hanging apparatus ofFIG. 25D with the mounting element and the elongate member in anattached state.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of an over-the-door hanging apparatus inaccordance with a tenth embodiment of the present invention with oneelongate member in an attached state and another elongate member in adetached state.

FIG. 27 is a front perspective view of a bracket member in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a rear perspective view of the bracket member of FIG. 27.

FIG. 29 is a side view of the bracket member of FIG. 27.

FIG. 30A is a front perspective view of the bracket member of FIG. 27supporting first and second support structures.

FIG. 30B is a rear perspective view of the bracket member of FIG. 27supporting the first and second support structures.

FIG. 31 is a side view of the bracket member of FIG. 27 supporting thefirst and second support structures.

FIG. 32A is a front view of the bracket member of FIG. 27 mounted to adoor and supporting the first support structure at a first hangingheight.

FIG. 32B is a front view of the bracket member of FIG. 27 mounted to adoor and supporting the first support structure at a second hangingheight.

FIG. 32C is a rear view of the bracket member of FIG. 27 mounted to adoor and supporting the second support structure at a first hangingheight.

FIG. 32D is a rear view of the bracket member of FIG. 27 mounted to adoor and supporting the second support structure at a second hangingheight.

FIG. 33 is a rear view of the bracket member of FIG. 27 supporting anaccessory and the second support structures in accordance with analternative embodiment.

FIG. 34 is a side view of the bracket member of FIG. 33 mounted to adoor and supporting the accessory and the second support structure.

FIG. 35A is a front view of the bracket member of FIG. 33 mounted to adoor and supporting the accessory at a first hanging height.

FIG. 35B is a front view of the bracket member of FIG. 33 mounted to adoor and supporting the accessory at a second hanging height.

FIG. 36A is a front perspective view of a bracket assembly in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 36B is a front perspective view of a bracket assembly in accordancewith another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 37A is an exploded perspective view illustrating the bracketassembly of FIG. 36A prepared for coupling to a support structure.

FIG. 37B is a perspective view illustrating an over-the-door hangingapparatus including the bracket assembly of FIG. 36A coupled to thesupport structure.

FIG. 37C is a front view illustrating the over-the-door hangingapparatus of FIG. 37B hanging from a door.

FIG. 38A is a front view illustrating a first alternative over-the-doorhanging apparatus hanging from a door.

FIG. 38B is a front view illustrating a second alternative over-the-doorhanging apparatus hanging from a door.

FIG. 38C is a front view illustrating a third alternative over-the-doorhanging apparatus hanging from a door.

FIG. 39A is a perspective view of an accessory hook in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 39B is a rear perspective view of the accessory hook of FIG. 39A.

FIG. 40A is a partially exploded perspective view illustrating theaccessory hook of FIG. 39A prepared for coupling to a support structure.

FIG. 40B is a perspective view illustrating the accessory hook of FIG.39A coupled to the support structure.

FIG. 41A is a partially exploded perspective view illustrating analternative accessory hook prepared for coupling to the supportstructure.

FIG. 41B is a perspective view illustrating the alternative accessoryhook of FIG. 41A coupled to the support structure.

FIG. 42 is a front view of an over-the-door hanging apparatus hangingfrom a door and having one or more of the accessory hooks of FIGS. 40Aand/or 41A coupled thereto.

FIG. 43A is an exploded perspective view illustrating a supportstructure and first and second straps prepared for coupling to thesupport structure.

FIG. 43B is a perspective view illustrating the first and second strapscoupled to the support structure.

FIG. 43C is a front view illustrating an over-the-door hanging apparatushanging from the door by the first and second straps of FIGS. 43A and43B.

FIG. 44 is a front view illustrating an alternative over-the-doorhanging apparatus hanging from the door by straps.

FIG. 45 is a perspective view of a bracket assembly in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 46A is an exploded perspective view illustrating the bracketassembly of FIG. 45 in preparation for being coupled to a supportstructure.

FIG. 46B is a perspective view of an over-the-door hanging apparatusthat includes the bracket assembly of FIG. 45 coupled to the supportstructure.

FIG. 46C is a front view of the over-the-door hanging apparatus of FIG.46B hanging from a door.

FIG. 47 is a perspective view of a portion of a bracket assembly inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 47A is a close-up view of area XLVIIA of FIG. 47.

FIG. 47B is a side view of the close-up shown in FIG. 47A.

FIG. 48 is a perspective view of a portion of a bracket assembly inaccordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 49A is a perspective view of a support structure in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 49B is an exploded side view illustrating the manner in which abracket assembly is coupled to the support structure of FIG. 49A.

FIG. 49C is a side view illustrating the bracket assembly coupled to thesupport structure of FIGS. 49A and 49B.

FIG. 50 is a perspective view of a support structure in accordance withanother embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 51 is a perspective view of a support structure in accordance withyet another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merelyexemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention,its application, or uses.

The description of illustrative embodiments according to principles ofthe present invention is intended to be read in connection with theaccompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entirewritten description. In the description of embodiments of the inventiondisclosed herein, any reference to direction or orientation is merelyintended for convenience of description and is not intended in any wayto limit the scope of the present invention. Relative terms such as“lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “above,” “below,” “up,”“down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivatives thereof (e.g.,“horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed torefer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawingunder discussion. These relative terms are for convenience ofdescription only and do not require that the apparatus be constructed oroperated in a particular orientation unless explicitly indicated assuch. Terms such as “attached,” “affixed,” “connected,” “coupled,”“interconnected,” and similar refer to a relationship wherein structuresare secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectlythrough intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigidattachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise.Moreover, the features and benefits of the invention are illustrated byreference to the exemplified embodiments. Accordingly, the inventionexpressly should not be limited to such exemplary embodimentsillustrating some possible non-limiting combination of features that mayexist alone or in other combinations of features; the scope of theinvention being defined by the claims appended hereto. Where there is aconflict in the language used throughout the specification, thedefinition and use of the terminology in the section of thespecification describing embodiments that are relevant to the particularclaims at issue controls.

Referring to FIGS. 1-2 concurrently, a first embodiment of anover-the-door hanging apparatus 100 is illustrated. The over-the-doorhanging apparatus 100 generally comprises a frame 101, a flat article110 supported within the frame 100, first and second mounting plates120, 220 secured to a rear surface 103 of the frame 101, and a bracketassembly 150 to which the frame 101 is slidably mounted (as discussed ingreater detail below).

In the exemplified embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the frame 101 is aperimeter-type frame comprising an outer edge 112 and an inner edge 113.The inner edge 113 forms a closed-geometry thereby defining a centralopening 114. A flat article 110, such as a mirror, is positioned andsupported within the central opening 114 according to known mountingtechniques. Although the invention will be described with reference tothe flat article 110 being a mirror, any other substantially flatarticle (or article with a substantially flat rear surface) can be usedin conjunction with the present invention, including artwork, diplomas,or the like. Furthermore, as used herein, the term “frame” is notlimited to a traditional perimeter-type frame having a central opening,but includes frames resembling a simple backer-board or plate that takesup the entire (or a portion of) rear surface area of the article to bemounted thereon. Preferably, however, the desired flat article isdisplayed by frame 101 so as to be visible to a user when theover-the-door hanging apparatus 100 is hung from a door as describedbelow.

The over-the-door hanging apparatus 100 comprises a first mounting plate120 and a second mounting plate 220 that are secured to the rear surface103 of the frame 101 on opposite lateral sides of a vertical centerlineA-A. The first and second mounting plates 120, 220 are secured to theframe 101 via screws 121, 221, respectively. Of course, other fastenersand fastening techniques can be used to secure the first and secondmounting plates 120, 220 to the frame, including without limitationbolts, nails, rivets, clamps, ties, slot-and-groove mating connections,snap-fit connections, and/or combinations thereof.

The over-the-door hanging apparatus 100 also comprises a bracketassembly 150 to which the frame 101 is detachably mounted. Morespecifically, the frame 101 is detachably mounted to the bracketassembly through a slidable mating between the first and second mountingplates 120, 220 and the hooks of the bracket assembly 150, which will bedescribed in great detail below. The frame 101 comprises a first channel130 and a second channel 230 (fully visible in FIG. 5). Only a bottomportion of the first and second channels 130, 230 is visible in FIGS. 1and 2.

In the exemplified embodiment, the over-the-door hanging apparatus 100comprises a perimeter-style frame 101, two mounting plates 120, 220 anda bracket assembly 150 that includes a first elongate bracket member 151and a second elongate bracket member 251. In this embodiment, the twomounting plates 120, 220 are attached to the frame 101 on opposite sidesof the vertical centerline A-A of the frame 101 while the first elongatemember 151 is slidably attached to the first mounting plate 120 and thesecond elongate member 251 is slidably attached to the second mountingplate 220. Of course, the invention is not so limited and theover-the-door hanging apparatus 100 may comprise only one mounting plateand one elongate bracket member connected to a central region of theframe 101. Alternatively, the over-the-door hanging apparatus 100 maycomprise greater than two mounting plates and a corresponding number ofelongate members of the bracket assembly to provide for a more secureconnection between the bracket assembly 150 and the frame 101. Moreover,while the first and second elongate bracket members 151, 251 areexemplified as separate structures, it is possible for theses members151, 251 to be formed as a single construct.

For purposes of referencing direction and orientation of the variouscomponents of the over-the-door hanging apparatus 100, it should benoted that relative terms such as top, bottom, left, right, lateral,proximal, distal, upward, outward, inward, vertical, horizontal, and thelike are used to delineate relative positions of the components of theinventive over-the-door hanging apparatus 100 with respect to oneanother and with respect to the vertical centerline A-A and are notintended to be in any further way limiting of the present invention.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3 a and 3 b concurrently, a detaileddescription of the bracket assembly 150 will be set forth. Thestructural details of the elongate bracket members 151, 252 will bediscussed herein with respect to the first elongate member 151 with theunderstanding that the same is applicable to the second elongate member251 in all respects.

The first elongate member 151 extends from a distal end 152 to aproximal end 153 and comprises a front surface 193 and an opposite rearsurface 194. The first elongate member 151 is preferably an integrallyformed structure formed by appropriately bending a flat strip offlexible metal (sheet metal) which may be formed from steel or the like.Of course, other materials and formation techniques can be used,including the molding, milling and/or lathing of plastics, matrixmaterials, or any other material capable of withstanding the requiredload-bearing requirements. Moreover, while the first elongate member 151of the bracket assembly 150 is preferably flexible in nature, it may beconstructed so as to be substantially rigid if desired.

A generally U-shaped bracket 158 is provided at a proximal end 153 ofthe first elongate member 151 and extends from the rear surface 194thereof for sliding over and engaging a top edge of a door. The U-shapedbracket 158 comprises a front portion 154, a top portion 155 and a backportion 156 that terminates with an angled flange 157. The front portion154 corresponds to a top portion of the elongate member 151 and itencompasses the proximal end 153 of the elongate member 151. The topportion 155 extends outward from the rear surface 194 of the elongatemember 151 at the proximal end 153 so as to form an approximately 90degree angle with the front portion 154 of the U-shaped bracket 158.Although the top portion 155 is described as extending at anapproximately 90 degree angle from the front portion 154 of the U-shapedbracket 158, it may extend at other angles if desired. The back portion156 of the U-shaped bracket 158 extends downwardly from the top portion155 at an approximately 90 degree angle with the top portion 155,thereby forming the U-shaped bracket 158 of the first elongate member151 of the bracket assembly 150. The angled flange 157 diverges slightlyoutward from the back portion 156 at an obtuse angle Θ in order tofacilitate placement of the U-shaped bracket 158 over a top edge of adoor as will be described below with reference to FIG. 8.

The U-shaped bracket 158 is preferably made of a flexible material sothat it can bend and more easily fit over doors with varying widths. Inother words, it is preferable that a user is able to extend the distancebetween the back portion 156 and the front portion 154 of the U-shapedbracket 158 by applying an outward force on the flange 157. The topportion 155 of the U-shaped bracket 158 is made wide enough toaccommodate a conventional door width which the inventive bracketassembly 150 is to be used. The thickness of the material, and hence itsflexibility, must be chosen so that the U-shaped bracket 158 issufficiently rigid to avoid deformation under the load of the flatarticle 110 and yet is thin enough to fit over the top of the doorwithout creating clearance problems with respect to the cap of the doorframe. In use, a user may grip and pull on the flange portion 157 of theU-shaped bracket 158 of the bracket assembly 150 in order to assist withthe attachment of the bracket assembly 150 to the top edge of a door aswill be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 11.

The first elongate member 151 further comprises a top hook 161 and abottom hook 162 near the distal end 152 of the elongate member 151. Thetop hook 161 and the bottom hook 162 collectively form a pair of hooksand are often referred to as such throughout this application. In theexemplified embodiment, the top and bottom hooks 161, 162 are integrallyformed with the first member 151. More specifically, the top and bottomhooks 161, 162 are preferably formed by punching an appropriate patternin the first elongate member 151 and subsequently bending the in-planetab out of plane and into the desired shape. As a result, apertures 163,164 (i.e. holes) are formed in the elongate member 151 behind the hooks161, 162. The apertures 163, 164 enable the elongate member 151 to bemanufactured with less material and also prevent the elongate member 151from prematurely deteriorating due to the friction of the mountingplates 120, 220 against the hooks 161, 162. Of course, the apertures163, 164 need not be included as a part of the elongate member 151 andthe hooks 161, 162 can be separate structures that are subsequentlywelded, fastened, clamped or otherwise connected to the first elongatemember 151.

The top and bottom hooks 161, 162 each extend outwardly from the frontsurface 193 of the elongate member 151 and upwardly toward the proximalend 153. The top hook 161 extends from a base 166 at which it connectsto the elongate member 151 to a distal end 192 at which it terminates.Similarly, the bottom hook 162 extends from a base 165 at which itconnects to the elongate member 151 to a distal end 191 at which itterminates. The top and bottom hooks 161, 162 are preferably in a linearvertical alignment with one another on the front surface 193 of theelongate member 151. The hooks 161, 162 each have a length which isequal to the distance from the bases 165, 166 to the distal ends 191,192 of the hooks 161, 162, respectively. The base 166 of the top hook161 is spaced a distance D1 from the base 165 of the bottom hook 162,the importance of which will become apparent from the description belowwith reference to FIGS. 4a and 4 b.

The top and bottom hooks 161, 162 are preferably S-shaped tabs. TheS-shape of the top and bottom hooks 161, 162 are preferred in order toaccomplish an efficient attachment between the bracket assembly 150 andthe mounting plates 120, 220 as will be described below. The invention,of course, is not limited by the shape of the hooks and other shapes maybe used as would be known to persons skilled in the art. For example,the top and bottom hooks 161, 162 could simply be straight tabsextending outwardly in an angled fashion from the bracket assembly 150for slidable mating with the edges of the mounting plates as describedbelow. Furthermore, it should be understood that the term hooks isintended to include any tab-type structure that may extend outwardlyfrom the bracket assembly 150 in a manner that affords slidable matingwith the edges of the mounting plates 120, 220 and is not intended to bein any other way limiting of the present invention.

Both of the top and bottom hooks 161, 162 extend outwardly and upwardlyfrom the front surface 193 of the elongate member 151 in a spaced partmanner so that slots 168, 169 are formed between the hooks 161, 162 andthe front surface 193 of the elongate member 151. Both of the slots 168,169 have an open top end 167, 197 that provides access into the slots168, 169 so that the edges of the mounting plates can be lowered intothe slots 168, 169 during mounting of the frame 101 to the bracketassembly 150, which will be described in greater below with reference toFIG. 6.

Referring now to FIGS. 4a and 4b , the details of the mounting plates120, 220 of the present invention will be described. Similarly to thedescription of the elongate members 151, 251 above, only the firstmounting plate 120 will be described in detail with the understandingthat the discussion is applicable to the second mounting plate 220.

The first mounting plate 120 is preferably a flat plate that can besecured to the frame 101 by any of the techniques described above. Thefirst mounting plate 120 comprises a plurality of screw holes 122 thatare sized and configured to receive a screw to facilitate the attachmentof the first mounting plate 120 to the frame 101. Although the firstmounting plate 120 is illustrated having three screw holes 122, theinvention is not so limited and the first mounting plate 120 may havemore or less than three screw holes 122 as desired. When attached to theframe 101, a rear surface (not shown) of the first mounting plate 120 isin surface contact with the rear surface 103 of the frame 101 by natureof their opposing flat surfaces.

The first mounting plate 120 is preferably a flat plate that issubstantially free of contour for the entirety of its major planarsurfaces. The first mounting plate 120 has an overall perimeter shapesuch that its cross-sectional area changes throughout its length. Thefirst mounting plate 120 has a bottom edge 125, a top edge 126 and twovertical sides that collectively form the perimeter of the firstmounting plate 120. The first mounting plate 120 also comprises avertical axis B-B that is substantially transverse to and intersects thebottom and top edges 125, 126 of the first mounting plate 120. A topsection 127 of the first mounting plate 120 extends from the top edge126 of the first mounting plate 120 to a transition point TP1. A middlesection 128 of the first mounting plate 120 extends from the transitionpoint TP1 to a transition point TP2. A bottom section 129 of the firstmounting plate 120 extends from the transition point TP2 to the bottomend 125 of the first mounting plate 120. The cross-sectional area of thetop section 127 of the first mounting plate 120 gradually decreases froma point 141 in the top section 127 to the transition point TP1. Themiddle section 128 of the first mounting plate 120, which extends fromthe transition point TP1 to the transition point TP2, has a constantcross-sectional area throughout its length. The cross-sectional area ofthe bottom section 129 of the first mounting plate 120 graduallyincreases from the transition point TP2 to a point 142. Thecross-sectional area of the first mounting plate 120 is again constantfrom the point 142 of the bottom section 129 of the first mounting plate120 to the bottom edge 125 of the first mounting plate 120. The shape ofthe first mounting plate 120 provides the first mounting plate 120 witha structural rigidity while using a minimized amount of materials inorder to reduce the costs in manufacturing.

In the illustrated embodiment, the first mounting plate 120 comprises atop aperture 123 and a bottom aperture 124. The top aperture 123 ispositioned partially within both of the top and middle sections 127, 128while the bottom aperture 124 is positioned within the bottom section129 only. Although the invention is described with a plate having twoapertures, the first mounting plate 120 may have only one aperture ormore than two apertures as would be understood by a person skilled inthe art. Furthermore, the apertures 123, 124 may be positioned on otherlocations on the first mounting plate 120 as desired. Using moreapertures will enable additional adjustability to the hanging height ofthe article as will be described below. The apertures 123, 124 in thefirst mounting plate 120 are preferably rectangular in shape, but maytake on any other shape as desired.

The top aperture 123 is defined by a closed-geometry edge that includesa top edge 145 and a bottom edge 143. Similarly, the bottom aperture 124is defined by a closed-geometry edge that includes a top edge 146 and abottom edge 144. The top edge 145 of the top aperture 123 is spaced adistance D2 from the top edge 146 of the bottom aperture 124, measuredalong the linear axis B-B. Similarly, the top edge 146 of the bottomaperture 124 is spaced a distance D3 from the bottom edge 125, measuredalong the axis B-B. The first mounting plate 120 is designed so that thedistance D2 is substantially equal to the distance D3. Furthermore, bothof these distances D2, D3 are also substantially equal to the distanceD1 between the hooks 161, 162 (discussed above with respect to FIGS. 3a,3b ). The importance of the edges 145, 146, 125, and the distances D1,D2, D3 will become apparent from the description below with reference toFIG. 5.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a portion of the over-the-door hangingapparatus 100 is illustrated in an exploded state. As can be seen, theframe 101 comprises has a first channel 130 formed into the rear surface103 on one side of the vertical centerline A-A of the frame 101 alongthe right lateral (another one of the channels is provided on theopposite side of the vertical centerline A-A). In the exemplifiedembodiment of FIG. 5, the channel 130 is illustrated as a segmentedchannel 130 comprising a first channel segment 131, a second channelsegment 132 and a third channel segment 133.

As noted above, FIG. 5 illustrates the channel 130 as comprising a firstchannel segment 131, a second channel segment 132 and a third channelsegment 133. However, more than three channel segments may be used asdesired for further adjustability in the hanging height of theover-the-door hanging apparatus 100 as will be described below.Furthermore, the frame 101 may be configured with less than threechannel segments and still be used as described below as would beunderstood by a person skilled in the art.

Each of the channel segments 131-133 of the channel 130 is a rectangularshaped depression formed into the frame 101. The channel segments131-133 of the channel 130 each form a groove or trough within the rearsurface 103 of the frame 101 that comprises a floor and, thus, do notextend through the entire thickness of the frame 101. However, inalternative embodiments, one or more of the channel segments 131-133 ofthe channel 130 may be through-holes in the sense that they could extendall the way through the thickness of the frame 101. Of course, thechannel segments 131-133 are contemplated as taking on any other shapes,including without limitation circles, triangles, trapezoids or the like.

Furthermore, while the channel 130 is exemplified as a segmentedchannel, the invention is not so limited and the channel 130 may be asingular continuous annular channel that extends around the entireperimeter of the rear surface 103 of the frame 101 or can be acontinuous channel that extends from below the bottom edge 125 of thefirst mounting plate 120 to above the top edge 145 of the top aperture123 of the first mounting plate 120. These alternative embodiments areshown in FIGS. 7-9 and will be described in greater detail below.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 concurrently, the placement and attachment ofthe first mounting plate 120 to the rear surface 103 of the frame 101will be described. In FIGS. 5 and 6, only the first mounting plate 120is shown for clarity and ease of understanding. However, it is to beunderstood that the second mounting plate 220 is attached to the rearsurface 103 of the frame 101 in the same manner as the first mountingplate 120, except that the second mounting plate 220 is attached to theopposite side of the vertical centerline A-A of the frame 101 (FIG. 2)in cooperation with a second channel.

The first mounting plate 120 is secured to the rear surface 103 of theframe 101 so that the vertical axis B-B of the first mounting plate 120is coextensive with the elongated channel 130, which in the exemplifiedembodiment is substantially parallel with the vertical centerline A-A.The second mounting plate 220 is secured to the rear surface 103 of theframe 101 on the opposite side of a vertical centerline A-A of the frame101 in an identical orientation with respect to the second channel 230.

More specifically, the first mounting plate 120 is secured to the frame101 so that: (1) the first channel segment 131 extends from a positionbelow the bottom edge 125 of the first mounting plate 120 to a positionabove the bottom edge 125 of the first mounting plate 120; (2) thesecond channel segment 132 extends from a position below the top edge146 of the bottom aperture 124 of the first mounting plate 120 to aposition above the top edge 146 of the bottom aperture 124 of the firstmounting plate 120; and (3) the third channel segment 133 extends from aposition below the top edge 145 of the top aperture 123 of the firstmounting plate 120 to a position above the top edge 145 of the topaperture 124 of the first mounting plate 120. While not required, it maybe preferred that the first mounting plate 120 be secured to the frame101 so that further: (1) the bottom edge 144 of the bottom aperture 124is aligned with the top edge 146 of the bottom aperture 124 of the firstmounting plate 120; and (2) the bottom edge 143 of the top aperture 123of the first mounting plate 120 is aligned with the top edge 145 of thetop aperture 123 of the first mounting plate 120.

When the first mounting plate 120 is secured to the frame 101 in themanner described above, the top aperture 123 is aligned with the firstchannel segment 133 and forms a passageway through the first mountingplate 120 into the third channel segment 133. Similarly, the bottomaperture 124 is aligned with the second channel segment 132 and forms apassageway through the first mounting plate 120 into the second channelsegment 132. Moreover, the top edge 145 of the top aperture 123 extendstransversely across the third channel segment 133. The top edge 146 ofthe bottom aperture 124 extends transversely across the second channelsegment 132. The bottom edge 125 of the first mounting plate 120 extendstransversely across the first channel segment 131.

Referring solely now to FIG. 6, the first, second and third channelsegments 131-133 preferably extend above the bottom edge 125 of thefirst mounting plate 120, the top edge 146 of the bottom aperture 124,and the top edge 145 of the top aperture 123, respectively, by adistance that is at least equal to the length of the hooks 161, 162.This configuration provides sufficient space for the hooks 161, 162 tofit within the selected channel segments 131-133 when the frame 101 isslidably mounted to the bracket assembly 150 as will be discussed below.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 5 and 6 concurrently, the attachment of thebracket assembly 150 to the first and second mounting plates 120, 220will be described. The description will be provided with specificreference to the mating between the first mounting plate 120 and thefirst elongate member 151 of the bracket assembly 150. However, itshould be understood that the description is equally applicable to themating of the second mounting plate 220 with the second elongate member251.

After properly aligning the first mounting plate 120 as described above,the first mounting plate 120 is secured to the rear surface 103 of theframe 101 by extending the screws 121 through the screw holes 122 andthreadily engaging the frame. It is preferred that the first and secondmounting plates 120, 220 be preassembled (i.e., secured) to the frame101 during manufacturing. Thus, the user will be able to hang theapparatus 100 to a door without the need for any tools or excessivephysical strength. In other words, the user will purchase the productfully assembled with the exception that the bracket assembly 150 will beseparate from the first and second mounting plates 120, 220 and frame101. As such, the user will only need to slide the U-Shaped brackets ofthe bracket assembly 150 over the top edge of the door and then slidethe hooks 161, 162 of the bracket assembly into mating cooperation witheither: (1) the top edges 145, 146 of the apertures 123, 124; or (2) thetop edge 146 and the bottom edge 125.

By nature of having an option between sliding the hooks 161, 162 of thebracket assembly into mating cooperation with either: (1) the top edges145, 146 of the apertures 123, 124; or (2) the top edge 146 and thebottom edge 125, the inventive over-the-door hanging apparatus 100 hasan advantageous built-in hanging height adjustability. In other words,depending upon which of the channel segments 131-133 of the frame 101the top and bottom hooks 161, 162 are attached to, the hanging heightmay be altered. A more detailed description of how the inventiveover-the-door hanging apparatus 100 may be hung at a lower and/or ahigher position will be set forth below. It should be understood,however, that while the description will be set forth below in relationto the first elongate member 151 mating with the first mounting plate120 and the first channel 130, the same principles apply to the matingbetween the second elongate member 151, the second mounting plate 220,and the second channel 230.

When a lower hanging position is desired, such as is shown in FIG. 6,the first elongate member 151 of the bracket assembly 150 will beattached to the frame 101 by inserting the bottom hook 162 through thebottom aperture 124 in the first mounting plate 120 and the top hook 161through the top aperture 123 in the first mounting plate 120. Becausethe first mounting plate 120 is attached to the frame 101 so that thebottom aperture 124 is aligned with the second channel segment 132 andthe top aperture 123 is aligned with the third channel segment 133, thebottom hook 162 will be inserted into the second channel segment 132 ofthe frame 101 while the top hook 161 will be inserted into the thirdchannel segment 133 of the frame 101. Once sufficiently inserted throughthe apertures 123, 124 and into the second and third channel segments132, 133 of the frame 101, the frame 101 will be lowered (or theelongate member 151 will be raised) until the top edge 145 of the topaperture 123 of the first mounting plate 120 slides into the slot 168 ofthe top hook 161 and the top edge 146 of the bottom aperture 124 of thefirst mounting plate 120 slides into the slot 169 of the bottom hook162. When fully slid into the slots 168, 169, the base 165 of the bottomhook 162 will contact the top edge 146 of the bottom aperture 124 of thefirst mounting plate 120 and the base 166 of the top hook 161 willcontact the top edge 145 of the top aperture 123 of the first mountingplate 120.

As noted above, the second and third channel segments 132, 133 extendupwardly beyond the edges 145, 146 (in the direction of the verticalaxis A-A) and beneath the first mounting plate 120. This configurationenables the hooks 161, 162 of the bracket assembly 150 to extend intothe frame 101 so that a portion of the first mounting plate 120 issnugly disposed within each of the slots 168, 169.

Through this slidable mating, the hooks 161, 162 frictionally engage theportions of the first mounting plate 120 positioned within the slots168, 169 to prevent the frame 101 from becoming accidentally dislodgedfrom the bracket assembly 150. The frictional engagement is furtherfacilitated by the S-shape and resilient nature of the hooks 161, 162.Although the attachment is described as being a friction fit, theinvention is not so limited and the attachment may be described as apress fit, an interference fit or any other fit as would be known topersons skilled in the art. The attachment between the bracket assembly150 and the frame 101 will be enhanced when the U-shaped bracket 158 ofthe bracket assembly 150 is attached to a top edge of a door because theweight of the flat article 110 being hung will increase the tight natureof the fit between the hooks 161, 162 and the combined plate/frame120/101 apparatus.

The invention has been described with the bracket assembly 150 attachedto the second and third channel segments 133, 132 in the frame 101. Suchan attachment is used when the hanging height of the mirror or articleis desired to be a lower hanging height. As noted above, the hangingheight of the over-the-door hanging apparatus 100 is adjustable.Therefore, the mirror or other flat article 110 may be hung at a higherhanging height in the manner described below and as shown in FIG. 2.

When the first mounting plate 120 is secured to the frame 101, the firstchannel segment 131 in the frame 101 extends beyond the bottom edge 125of the first mounting plate 120 as illustrated in FIG. 2. Therefore,rather than attaching the bracket assembly 150 through the second andthird channel segments 133, 132 of the frame 101, the hooks 161, 162 ofthe bracket assembly 150 are attached to the second and first channelsegments 132, 131 of the frame 101, respectively. Specifically, thebottom hook 162 will be inserted into the first channel segment 131below the bottom edge 125 of the first mounting plate 120 while the tophook 161 will be inserted into the second channel segment 132 via thebottom aperture 124 of the first mounting.

Once sufficiently inserted into the first and second channel segments131, 132 of the frame 101, the frame 101 will be lowered (or theelongate member 151 will be raised) until the top edge 146 of the bottomaperture 124 of the first mounting plate 120 slides into the slot 168 ofthe top hook 161 and the bottom edge 146 of the first mounting plate 120slides into the slot 169 of the bottom hook 162. When fully slid intothe slots 168, 169, the base 165 of the bottom hook 162 will contact thetop edge 146 of the bottom aperture 124 of the first mounting plate 120and the base 166 of the top hook 161 will contact the bottom edge 125 ofthe first mounting plate 120.

As noted above, the first and second channel segments 131, 132 extendupwardly beyond the edges 146, 125 (in the direction of the verticalaxis A-A) and beneath the first mounting plate 120. This configurationenables the hooks 161, 162 of the bracket assembly 150 to extend intothe frame 101 so that a portion of the first mounting plate 120 issnugly disposed within each of the slots 168, 169. Thus, the samefrictional/interference fit is formed. With such an attachment, theapparatus 100 may be hung at a higher level on a door than previouslydescribed manner. Thus, the present invention provides an easy andefficient way for a user to adjust the hanging height of a mirror orother object without the need for tools or an excessive amount ofphysical force. The adjustable height mounting is achieved by designingthe distances D1, D2, D3 to be substantially equal.

Of course, the second elongate member 251 may be attached in the samemanner as described above except that the second elongate member 251 isattached to the second mounting plate 220 which is secured onto theframe 101 on the opposite side of the vertical centerline A-A. By usingthe first and second elongate members 151, 251, the flat article 110will be more securely hung from the top of the door.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8 concurrently, an alternative embodiment of aframe 301 to be used with an over-the-door hanging apparatus 300 will bedescribed. The components of the over-the-door hanging apparatus 300that are the same as the components described above with reference tothe over-the-door hanging apparatus 100 will be delineated by the samereference numerals except that the over-the-door hanging apparatus 300will use the 300- and 400-series of numbers rather than the 100- and200-series of numbers. Furthermore, only those aspects of theover-the-door hanging apparatus 300 that are different from theover-the-door hanging apparatus 100 described above will be describedbelow in detail. Therefore, all features of the over-the-door hangingapparatus 300 that are not described below should be interpreted asbeing identical to the corresponding component from the over-the-doorhanging apparatus 100 described above.

Specifically, rather than having a channel 130 comprising three distinctchannel segments 131-133 in the frame 101 that require time and effortin order to properly align the first and second mounting plates 120, 220as described above, the frame 301 may have a continuous channel 330along all four sides of the frame 301 so as to form an annular channelabout the perimeter of the frame 301. This embodiment is advantageous inthat it reduces the costs in manufacturing by reducing the amount ofmaterial needed to create the frame 301 and by reducing the timerequired to attach the first and second mounting plates 320, 420 to theframe 301.

In use, the first mounting plate 320 is aligned with the channel 330 sothat the channel 330 can be seen through the apertures 323, 324 in thefirst mounting plate 320. This embodiment nullifies the need to alignthe apertures 323, 324 of the first mounting plate 320 with the channel330 in a vertical direction and instead enables the first mounting plate320 to be attached to the frame 301 in a myriad of positions so long asthe channel 330 is visible and accessible through the apertures 323,324. Such an embodiment provides a significantly greater amount offlexibility to the hanging height of the flat article.

After the first mounting plate 320 (and preferably also the secondmounting plate 420) is secured to the frame, the hooks 361, 362 of thebracket assembly 350 are inserted through the apertures 323, 324 of thefirst mounting plate 320 in the same manner as described above. Theentire attachment procedure between the bracket assembly 350 and theframe 301 is identical to the attachment procedure described above withreference to the bracket assembly 150 and the frame 101. Essentially,the over-the-door hanging apparatus 300 is identical to theover-the-door hanging apparatus 100 except that instead of having asegmented channel 130 in the frame 101, there is one continuous channel330 in the frame 301 that forms a rectangular border around the entiretyof the frame 301. As can be seen the channel 330 still extends from aposition below to a position above each of the edges 345, 346, 325.

Referring to FIG. 9, another alternative embodiment of the channel inthe frame will be described. This embodiment comprises a continuouschannel 530 that is not segmented and that does not form a border aroundthe frame 101. Rather, the channel 530 only extends from a positionbelow the bottom edge 147 of the first mounting plate 120 to a positionabove the top edge 145 of the top aperture 123 of the first mountingplate 120. In such an embodiment, a second channel (not shown) which isidentical to the channel 530 will be located on the opposite lateralside of the frame 101, thereby forming a mirror image.

Referring to FIG. 10, an alternative embodiment for a mounting platewill be described. The first and second mounting plates 120, 220 mayeach comprise a first plate segment 621, 721, a second plate segment622, 722 and a third plate segment 623, 723. This embodiment will befurther described only with reference to the first mounting plate 120.It should be understood that the second mounting plate 220 will havefeatures and components that are identical to the first mounting plate120.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10, a bottom edge 625 of the thirdplate segment 623 serves an identical purpose to the bottom edge 125 ofthe first mounting plate 120 described above. Furthermore, a bottom edge646 of the second plate segment 622 serves an identical purpose to thetop edge 146 of the bottom aperture 124 of the first mounting plate 120.Further still, a bottom edge 645 of the first plate segment 621 servesan identical purpose to the top edge 145 of the top aperture 123 of thefirst mounting plate 120. It should be understood to a person skilled inthe art that the inventive over-the-door hanging apparatus 100 wouldoperate in the same exact manner with the three plate segment 621, 622,623 embodiment as it would with the mounting plate 120 as describedabove. In other words, the bracket assembly 150 will be attached to theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 10 in the same manner as was describedabove.

Referring to FIG. 11, the mirror 110 or other article is illustratedhanging from a top edge 171 of a door 170. In the illustratedembodiment, the mirror or other flat article 110 is attached to thebracket assembly 150 which comprises the first elongate member 151 andthe second elongate member 251 on opposite lateral sides of the rearsurface (not shown) of the flat article 110. The U-shaped brackets 158,258 of the elongate members 151, 251 of the bracket assembly 150 areattached to the top edge 171 of the door 170 so that the flat article110 is hung therefrom. When the flat article 110 is a mirror, it is hungso that the reflective front surface 111 is visible and the rear surface(not shown) is in surface contact with the door 170. It should beunderstood that any of the various types of channels and mounting platesmay be used with the inventive over-the-door hanging apparatus in manydifferent combinations. For example, the three plate segment 621, 622,623 mounting plate may be used with the segmented channels 131, 132, 133or with the elongated channel 530 or with the border/annular channel330. Similarly, the first and second mounting plates 120, 220 may alsobe used with any of the above mentioned channel configurations.

In alternative embodiments of the invention, which are not illustrated,the frame 100 may not include channels 130, 230 in its rear surface 101.In such embodiments, the first and second mounting plates 120, 220 (orthe segments thereof) would be placed over planar sections of the rearsurface 101 of the frame 100 and be designed so that the hooks 161-162,191-292 could be slid/inserted between a raised portion of the mountingplates 120, 220 and the planar sections of the rear surface 101. Thiscould be accomplished by forming the first, second and/or third edges125, 145, 146 to include a raised portion that protrudes from the rearsurface 101 of the frame 100, thereby forming a nesting space/gapbetween the rear surface 101 of the frame 100 and the rear surfaces ofthe mounting plates 120, 220 (or the segments thereof). For example, themounting plates 120, 220 (or the segments thereof) could be formed in toresemble one half of a C-clamp and/or a V-clamp. In another example, asmall section of the first, second and/or third edges 125, 145, 146could be bent out of plane with the remaining sections of the mountingplates 120, 220 (or the segments thereof) that are coupled to the frame100. Finally, any of the foregoing details described above with respectto FIGS. 1-11 could be utilized with such an alternative embodiment.

In a still further embodiment of the invention, shown in FIGS. 12-17B,the frame 801 may be designed so that the channels 130, 230 are omitted.In such an embodiment, the bracket assembly 850 comprises a firstelongate member 851 and a second elongate member 951 that are slidablyattached to mounting plates 820, 920 respectively. In this embodiment,the first and second mounting plates 820, 920 are placed over planarsections of the rear surface 803 of the frame 801. To avoid redundancy,only the first mounting plate 820, along with its cooperation with thefirst elongate member 851, is described in detail herein with theunderstanding that the second mounting plate 920, and its coupling tothe second elongate member 951, is identical.

As best shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, the first mounting plate 820generally comprises a plurality of planar portions 875A-C and aplurality of raised portions 848A-C. The plurality of planar portions875A-C are substantially coplanar with one another. Similarly, theplurality of raised portions 848A-C are substantially coplanar with oneanother. The plurality of raised portions 848A-C are offset from and notcoplanar with the plurality of planar portions 875A-C. The plurality ofraised portions 848A-C and the plurality of planar portions 875A-C arearranged in an alternating manner and are interconnect to one another.

The first mounting plate 820 is designed so that the hooks 861-863 (orflanged bosses, rivets, screws or bolts in other embodiments) of thefirst elongate member 851 may be slidably inserted between the raisedportions 848A-C of the first mounting plate 820 and the planar sectionsof the rear surface 801 of the frame 801, respectively.

The first mounting plate 820 further comprises a first aperture 823, asecond aperture 824, and a multi-width aperture 830 that are formed inthe raised portions 848A-C of the first mounting plate 820 respectively.The multi-width aperture 830 is divided into a nesting section 832 and areceiving section 831. The nesting section 832 extends vertically fromthe receiving section 831 and is narrowed relative to the receivingsection 831. Stated simply, the nesting section 832 has a width that isless than the width of the receiving section 831. While the multi-widthaperture is exemplified as having stepped width, in other embodimentsthe width may simply taper such that the multi-width slot resembles aV-shape.

The multi-width aperture 830 terminates in a top edge 847. Asexemplified, the top edge 847 is curved to accommodate the shaft of ascrew but can be linear in other embodiments. The receiving section 831is sized such that it will permit the head of a screw, flanged fastener,bolt, or rivet to pass therethrough. The receiving section 831 of themulti-width aperture 830 may have a semi-circular shape or may beconstructed in any shape that permits the passage of a flanged portionof fastener (such as the head of a screw or the head of a flangedfastener).

The multi-width aperture 830 has a bottom edge 834 that is located on ornear the planar portion 875A of the first mounting plate 820 tofacilitate insertion of the screw head into the screw aperture 830. Thenesting section 832 is sized such that the head of the screw may notpass through the slot section 832. This allows the multi-width aperture830 of the first mounting plate 820 to be aligned with a protrudingscrew such that the screw head can be slid into the receiving section831. Then, upon the first mounting plate 820 being slid downward, thescrew body passes into the nesting section 832 and the screw head istrapped between the raised portion 848A of the first mounting plate 820and the rear surface of the frame 801, thereby facilitating mounting toa door or other vertical surface.

Each of the first aperture and second aperture 823, 824 have a top edge845, 846 respectively. The top edge 845 of the first aperture 823 islocated on the raised portion 848B while the top edge 846 of the secondaperture 824 is located on the raised portion 848C. The first and secondapertures 823, 824 also have bottom edges 843, 844, respectively. Thebottom edge 843 of the first aperture 823 is located on the planarportion 875B while the bottom edge 844 of the second aperture 824 islocated on the planar portion 875C. As will be discussed below withrespect to FIG. 17A, the hooks 861-863 are slidably inserted into theapertures 823, 824, 830 and engage the top edges 845-847 of the firstmounting plate 820.

The first mounting plate 820 further includes a plurality of fastenerholes 822 which are sized and configured to receive a screw (or otherfastener) to facilitate fixed attachment of the first mounting plate 820to the rear surface 803 of the frame 801. Although the first mountingplate 820 is illustrated as having three fastener holes 822, theinvention is not so limited and the first mounting plate 820 may havemore or less than three fastener holes 822 as desired. When attached tothe frame 801, the planar portions 875A-C are in surface contact withthe rear surface 803 of the frame 801.

As can be best seen in FIGS. 12 and 17A, the over-the-door apparatus 800may be hung from a door by using the first and second elongate members851, 951. The first and second elongate members 851, 951 are slid overthe top edge of the door as described above for the embodiments of FIGS.1-10. The first and second mounting plates 820, 920, which are coupledto the frame 801, are then slidably mounted to the first and secondelongate members 851, 951, respectively, as discussed in greater detailbelow.

To avoid redundancy, only the mounting of the first elongate member 851to the first mounting plate 820 is described in detail herein with theunderstanding that the second elongate member 951 and the secondmounting plate 920 are identical. In order to slidably mount the firstelongate member 851 to the first mounting plate 820, the hooks 861-863are inserted through the multi-width aperture 830, the first aperture823, and the second aperture 824. The hook 861 is inserted through themulti-width aperture 830, the hook 862 is inserted through the firstaperture 823, and the hook 863 is inserted through the second aperture824. The elongate member 851 is then slid upward until the hooks 861-863fully engage the top edges 847, 845, 846 respectively.

Instead of inserting hooks 861-863 through apertures 830, 823, and 824,the hook 861 may be inserted through the first aperture 823 and the hook862 may be inserted through the second aperture 824. Alternately, hook862 may be inserted through the multi-width aperture 830 and hook 863may be inserted through the first aperture 823. In yet other mountingcombinations, the hook 861 may be inserted through the second aperture824. Further, the hook 863 may be inserted through the multi-widthaperture 830. By inserting different hooks 861-863 through differentapertures 830, 823, 824, adjustments in height may be obtained. Inalternate embodiments, there may be more than three hooks 861-863 orapertures 830, 823, 824 or there may be fewer than three hooks 861-863or apertures 830, 823, 824. The number of hooks 861-863 and the numberof apertures 830, 823, 824 need not be equal. In yet other embodiments,the first and second apertures 823, 824 may have the same shape as themulti-width aperture 830.

In an alternate mounting best shown in FIG. 17B, the frame 801 is hungby installing a screw 849 into a door 870. To avoid redundancy, only thefirst mounting plate 820 is disclosed, with the second mounting plate920 being identical. Instead of a door 870, the first mounting plate 820may be mounted to any other vertical surface, such as a wall. As withother embodiments, the first mounting plate 820 is installed to theframe 801 via screws 821, and then the head of the screw 849 is insertedinto the multi-width aperture 830 and slid upward until the shaft of thescrew 849 contacts the top edge 847 of the multi-width aperture 830.This permits flexible mounting of the frame 801 without requiring theuse of the first and second elongate members 851, 951. Multiple screws849 may be used, and the first mounting plate 820 may be designed toaccommodate multiple screw apertures 830 as desired.

FIGS. 18A and 18B disclose an alternate embodiment of the first elongatemember 851A, with three flanged fasteners 881-883 in place of hooks861-863. The elongate member 851A is identical to the embodimentsdisclosed in FIGS. 12-17B excepting those features explicitly described.The second elongate member is also identical to the first elongatemember 851A disclosed in this embodiment. The flanged fasteners 881-883each have a post portion 886 and a flange portion 888. The flangedfasteners engage multi-width apertures 891-893 as will be discussed infurther detail below.

FIGS. 19A and 19B disclose an alternate embodiment of the first mountingplate 820A. The first mounting plate 820A has three multi-widthapertures 891-893. The first mounting plate 820A is identical to theembodiment disclosed in FIGS. 12-17B excepting those features explicitlydescribed. The second mounting plate is also identical to the firstmounting plate 820A disclosed in this embodiment.

Turning to FIG. 20, the flanged fasteners 881-883 are shown engaged withthe multi-width apertures 891-893. The flanged fasteners 881-883 areinserted into the multi-width apertures 891-893 and slidably engagedsuch that the post portion 886 of the flanged fasteners 881-883 mateswith the nesting section of the corresponding multi-width apertures891-893. The flange portion 888 of the flanged fasteners 881-883prevents the flanged fasteners 881-883 from withdrawing from themulti-width apertures 891-893 unless the first mounting plate 820A isslid upward with respect to the first elongate member 851A to releasethe flanged fasteners 881-883. Alternate embodiments of the flangedfasteners 881-883 may be bolts, rivets, screws, or other fastenershaving a flange and post portion which permit engagement with thenesting portion of the multi-width apertures 891-893.

In yet other embodiments, the hooks, flanged fasteners, bolts, rivets,or screws of the first and second elongate members as shown anddescribed in the preceding embodiments may be substituted for theapertures of the first and second mounting plates of the precedingembodiments. Likewise, the apertures of the first and second mountingplates may be substituted for the hooks, flanged fasteners, etc. of thefirst and second elongate members. Thus, the mounting features may bereversed to permit the mounting plates to have hooks or flangedfasteners which engage apertures of the elongate members.

Referring now to FIGS. 21A and 21B, an over-the-door hanging apparatus1000 will be described in accordance with yet another embodiment of thepresent invention. FIGS. 21A and 21B only illustrate a portion of theover-the-door hanging apparatus 1000 showing the coupling components onone side thereof, it being understood that the opposite side thereof mayhave identical components and an identical structure. Thus, theconfiguration shown, for example, in FIGS. 1 and 2 is applicable to thisembodiment except that the structure of the mounting components isdifferent in this embodiment as will be described herein below.

The over-the-door hanging apparatus 1000 comprises a support structure1001 having a rear surface 1002. In certain embodiments a mirror iscoupled to the support structure 1001. However, the invention is not tobe limited to a mirror being coupled to the support structure 1001 inall embodiments and other articles may be coupled to the supportstructure 1001 in other embodiments as described herein above. Themirror (or other article) is not illustrated in FIGS. 21A and 21B, butthe description above regarding the coupling of the mirror may beapplicable. In certain embodiments, the support structure 1001 may havethe rear surface 1002 and an opposite front surface, and the mirror maybe coupled to the front surface. The mirror may be directly orindirectly coupled to the front surface. For example, in someembodiments the mirror may be coupled to a door that is hingedly coupledto the front surface of the support structure 1001 similar toconventional cabinets such as medicine cabinets or other storagecabinets with a mirrored door.

The over-the-door hanging apparatus 1000 also comprises a first elongatemember 1003 and a second elongate member (not illustrated) and a firstpair of mounting elements 1004 and a second pair of mounting elements(not illustrated). Specifically, the first pair of mounting elements1004 is secured to the rear surface 1002 of the support structure 1001on a first side of a vertical centerline of the support structure 1000and the second pair of mounting elements (not illustrated) is secured tothe rear surface 1002 of the support structure 1001 on a second side ofthe vertical centerline of the support structure 100 that is oppositethe first side. Because only one side of the over-the-door hangingapparatus 1000 is illustrated, only one of the elongate members and oneof the pairs of mounting elements is illustrated. However, it should beappreciated that a second elongate member that is identical in structureto the first elongate member 1003 and a second pair of mounting elementsthat is identical in structure to the first pair of mounting elements1004 are also included as a part of the over-the-door hanging apparatus1000 similar to that which has been described in the previousembodiments.

The first pair of mounting elements 1004 (and also the second pair ofmounting elements) is secured to the rear surface 1002 of the supportstructure 1001. The details of the first pair of mounting elements 1004described below are applicable to the second pair of mounting elementsthat are not illustrated in the exemplified embodiment. In theexemplified embodiment, the first pair of mounting elements 1004comprises a first mounting element 1005 and a second mounting element1006. More specifically, in this embodiment the first mounting element1005 is a first set screw that is screwed into the rear surface 1002 ofthe support structure 1001 and the second mounting element 1006 is asecond set screw that is screwed into the rear surface 1002 of thesupport structure 1001. Of course, the first and second mountingelements 1005, 1006 may be other types of fasteners, including nails,rivets, bolts, pins, barbs, or the like (see, for example, FIG. 26 andthe related description below). The first and second mounting elements1005, 1006 may be secured to the rear surface 1002 of the supportstructure 1001 and then the first elongate member 1003 secured to thefirst and second mounting elements 1005, 1006 or the first elongatemember 1003 may be placed adjacent/into contact with the rear surface1002 of the support structure 1001 and then the first and secondmounting elements 1005, 1006 used to couple the first elongate member1003 to the support structure 1001. Thus, the first and second pairs ofmounting elements 1004 may be secured to the rear surface 1002 of thesupport structure 1001 by the factory during manufacturing or by theuser during assembly after purchase.

The first elongate member 1003 will be described below, it beingunderstood that the same description is applicable to the secondelongate member although it is not specifically illustrated in thefigures for this particular embodiment. The first elongate member 1003extends from a distal end 1007 to a proximal end 1008 and comprises afirst surface 1009 and an opposite second surface 1010. The firstelongate member 1003 comprises a plurality of mounting elements 1011 formounting the first elongate member 1003 to the support structure 1001,and more specifically to the first pair of mounting elements 1004. Thefirst elongate member 1003 also comprises a first bracket 1012 forengaging a top edge of a door as has been described above.

In the exemplified embodiment, the plurality of mounting elements 1011comprises four separate multi-width apertures 1011 a-d formed into thefirst elongate member 1003 in a vertically spaced apart manner. Themulti-width apertures 1011 a-d comprise a larger width portion thatpermits the head/flange of the first and second mounting elements 1005,1006 of the first pair of mounting elements 1004 to pass therethroughand a smaller width portion that prevents the head of the first andsecond mounting elements 1005, 1006 of the first pair of mountingelements 1004 from passing therethrough. The smaller width portions ofthe multi-width apertures 1011 a-d permit the stem portions of the firstand second mounting elements 1005, 1006 of the first pair of mountingelements 1004 to pass therethrough.

Thus, referring collectively to FIGS. 21A and 21B, the first elongatemember 1003 can be coupled to the first pair of mounting elements 1004by inserting the heads of the first and second mounting elements 1005,1006 of the first pair of mounting elements 1004 (which may be setscrews or other fasteners as described above) through the larger widthportion of two of the multi-width apertures 1011 a, 1011 b and thensliding the first elongate member 1003 relative to the support structure1001 so that the stem portions of the first and second mounting elements1005, 1006 of the first pair of mounting elements 1004 (which may be setscrews or other fasteners as described above) enter into the smallerwidth portion of the multi-width apertures 1011 a, 1011 b. This preventsthe first elongate member 1003 from being separated from the first pairof mounting elements 1004 unless the installation process including thesliding movement noted above is reversed.

Thus, the first and second elongate members 1003 are separate componentsfrom the support structure 1001. The first and second pairs of mountingelements 1004 are coupled to the rear surface 1002 of the supportstructure 1001 before the first and second elongate members 1003 aremounted to the support structure 1001. Specifically, the first andsecond elongate members 1003 are configured to be mounted to the supportstructure 1001 via engagement between the mounting elements 1011 of thefirst and second elongate members 1003 and the first and second pairs ofmounting elements 1004.

Referring now to FIGS. 22A-22C, another embodiment of an over-the-doorhanging apparatus 1100 will be described. The over-the-door hangingapparatus 1100 generally comprises a support structure 1101 having arear surface 1102, first and second elongate members 1103 (only thefirst elongate member is illustrated), and first and second pairs ofmounting elements 1104 (only the first pair of mounting elements isillustrated). Similar to the embodiments described above, a mirror orother flat article may be coupled to the support structure 1101. As withthe previously described embodiment of FIGS. 21A-21B, in this embodimentonly one side of the apparatus 1100 and thus only one of the elongatemembers 1103 and one of the pairs of mounting elements 1104 isillustrated. However, it should be appreciated that a second elongatemember and a second pair of mounting elements that are identical to thefirst elongate member 1103 and the first pair of mounting elements 1104is provided on the opposite side of the over-the-door hanging apparatus1100. In certain embodiments, the first pair of mounting elements 1104and the second pair of mounting elements are located on opposite sidesof a vertical centerline of the support structure 1101 as describedabove.

The first pair of mounting elements 1104 (and also the second pair ofmounting elements) is secured to the rear surface 1102 of the supportstructure 1101. The details of the first pair of mounting elements 1104described below are applicable to the second pair of mounting elements.In the exemplified embodiment, the first pair of mounting elements 1104comprises a first mounting element 1105 and a second mounting element1106. The first and second mounting elements 1105, 1106 of the firstpair of mounting elements 1104 are vertically aligned and spaced apartfrom one another. In the exemplified embodiment, the first mountingelement 1105 is a D-ring located on the rear surface 1102 of the supportstructure 1101 and the second mounting element 1106 is a set screw thatis screwed into the rear surface 1102 of the support structure 1101. TheD-ring may be coupled to the rear surface 1102 of the support structure1101 via a bracket or plate member 1115. The set screw may be replacedwith other fasteners such as those described above with reference toFIGS. 21A and 21B. In certain embodiments, the apparatus 1100 may onlyinclude the first mounting element 1105 and not also the second mountingelement 1106, and thus the second mounting element 1106 (i.e., the setscrew or equivalent) may be omitted in some embodiments. Although thesecond pair of mounting elements is not illustrated in the drawings, insome embodiments the first mounting element 1105 of the first pair ofmounting elements 1104 is horizontally aligned with the first mountingelement of the second pair of mounting elements and the second mountingelement 1106 of the first pair of mounting elements 1104 is horizontallyaligned with the second mounting element of the second pair of mountingelements.

The first elongate member 1103 extends from a proximal end 1107 to adistal end 1108 and comprises a first surface 1109 and an oppositesecond surface 1110. The first elongate member 1103 comprises aplurality of mounting elements 1111 for mounting to the supportstructure 1101 (and more specifically for mounting to the first pair ofmounting elements 1104) and a first bracket 1112 for engaging a top edgeof a door. The first bracket 1112 is located at the distal end 1108 ofthe first elongate member 1103. In the exemplified embodiment, theplurality of mounting elements 1111 extend from the first surface 1109of the first elongate member 1103 and the first bracket 1112 extendsfrom the second surface 1110 of the first elongate member 1103.

In the exemplified embodiment, the plurality of mounting elements 1111comprises a first mounting element 1111 a, a second mounting element1111 b, a third mounting element 1111 c, a fourth mounting element 1111d, and a fifth mounting element 1111 e. However, the number of themounting elements 1111 is not to be limiting of the present invention inall embodiments and there may be more or less than that which is shownin the appended drawings. In the exemplified embodiment, each of thefirst through fourth mounting elements 1111 a-d is a protrusion or hookthat extends from the first surface 1109 of the first elongate member1103 and the fifth mounting element 1111 e is an aperture, and morespecifically a multi-width aperture, that is formed through the firstelongate member 1103.

In the exemplified embodiment, the fifth mounting element 1111 e isformed into the main portion of the first elongate member 1103. However,in other embodiments the fifth mounting element 1111 e may be anaperture that is formed into one of the first through fourth mountingelements 1111 a-d. For example, the first elongate member 1103 maycomprise the first mounting element 1111 a, but it may be elongatedrelative to that which is illustrated so that it extends furthervertically along the first elongate member 1103. In some embodiments,the aperture of the fifth mounting element 1111 e may be formed into thefirst mounting element 1111 a.

In the exemplified embodiment, the first mounting element 1111 a islocated at the proximal end 1107 of the first elongate member 1103.Furthermore, in the exemplified embodiment the fifth mounting element1111 e is located between the first mounting element 1111 a and theproximal end 1108 of the first elongate member 1103. In someembodiments, the plurality of mounting elements 1111 may comprise onlythe first mounting element 1111 a and the fifth mounting element 1111 e.It should be appreciated that the use of the terms “first,” “second,”“third,” and so on is merely intended to distinguish between thedifferent mounting elements and is not otherwise intended to limit thescope of the application or claims. Thus, the phrase “first mountingelement,” “second mounting element,” etc. in the claims may refer to anyof the mounting elements 1111 a-e described herein.

Referring to FIGS. 22A and 22C, the coupling of the first elongatemember 1103 to the support structure 1101 via the first pair of mountingelements 1104 will be described, it being understood that this samedescription is applicable to the coupling of the second elongate memberto the support structure 1101 via the second pair of mounting elements.The first elongate member 1103 is positioned adjacent the rear surface1102 of the support structure 1101 so that the first mounting element1111 a of the first elongate member 1103 is aligned with the firstmounting element 1105 of the first pair of mounting elements 1104 andthe fifth mounting element 1111 e of the first elongate member 1103 isaligned with the second mounting element 1106 of the first pair ofmounting elements 1104. Of course, any one of the first through fourthmounting elements 1111 a-d of the first elongate member 1103 may bealigned with the first mounting element 1105 depending on the desiredhanging height of the over-the-door hanging apparatus 1100. Thepositioning/location of the second mounting element 1106 of the firstpair of mounting elements 1104 may simply need to be changed to ensurethat it is aligned with the fifth mounting element 1111 e of the firstelongate member 1103 depending on which of the first through fourthmounting elements 1111 a-d of the first elongate member 1103 is to becoupled to the first mounting element 1105 of the first pair of mountingelements 1104. In some embodiments the second through fourth mountingelements 1111 b-d may be omitted so that there is only the firstmounting element 1111 a and the fifth mounting element 1111 e and noadjustability in the hanging height of the over-the-door hangingapparatus 1100.

Once aligned as described herein, the first mounting element 1111 a ofthe first elongate member 1103 is engaged with the first mountingelement 1105 such that the D-ring becomes positioned within a spacebetween the first mounting element 1111 a and the first surface 1109 ofthe first elongate member 1103. Simultaneously, the second mountingelement 1106 enters into the larger width portion of the second mountingelement 1106 of the first elongate member 1103. Next, the first elongatemember 1103 is slid upwardly/vertically so that the second mountingelement 1106 enters into the smaller width portion of the secondmounting element 1106 and the D-ring becomes hooked onto/engaged withthe first mounting element 1111 a. This dual mount system preventssubstantial movement of the first elongate member 1103 relative to thesupport structure 1101.

Referring to FIGS. 23A-23D, another embodiment of an over-the-doorhanging apparatus 1200 will be described. The over-the-door hangingapparatus 1200 generally comprises a support structure 1201 having arear surface 1202, first and second elongate members 1203 (only thefirst elongate member is illustrated, it being understood that thesecond elongate member is identical thereto), and first and second pairsof mounting elements 1204 (only the first pair of mounting elements isillustrated, it being understood that the second pair of mountingelements is identical but positioned on the opposite side of the supportstructure 1201 as has been discussed in the previous embodiments). Aswith the embodiments above with regard to FIGS. 21A-21B and 22A-22C,FIGS. 23A-23D only illustrate a portion of the over-the-door hangingapparatus 1200 sufficient to show the mount system for mounting thefirst and second elongate members 1203 to the support structure 1201 viathe first and second pairs of mounting elements 1204.

As with the previously described embodiments, the first pair of mountingelements 1204 is coupled or secured to the rear surface 1202 of thesupport structure 1201. In this embodiment, the first pair of mountingelements 1204 comprises a first mounting element 1205 and a secondmounting element 1206. In the exemplified embodiment, the first andsecond mounting elements 1205, 1206 are illustrated as separate anddistinct elements. However, the invention is not to be so limited andthe first and second mounting elements 1205, 1206 may be formed into asingle mounting plate that is coupled to the rear surface 1202 of thesupport structure 1201. Each of the first and second mounting elements1205, 1206 comprises a curved channel 1215.

The first elongate member 1203 extends from a distal end 1207 to aproximal end 1208 and comprises a first surface 1209 and an oppositesecond surface 1210. The first elongate member 1204 comprises first andsecond mounting elements 1211 a, 1211 b extending from the first surface1209 and a first bracket 1212 extending from the second surface 1210.The first and second mounting elements 1211 a, 1211 b are hooks that areconfigured to cooperate with the first and second mounting elements1205, 1206 of the first pair of mounting elements 1204 to mount thefirst elongate member 1203 to the support structure 1201. In theexemplified embodiment, the first mounting element 1211 a is a hook thatextends outwardly and downwardly towards the distal end 1207 of thefirst elongate member 1203 and the second mounting element 1206 is ahook that extends outwardly and upwardly towards the proximal end 1208of the first elongate member 1203. However, the invention is not to beso limited in all embodiments and both of the first and second mountingelements 1211 a, 1211 b of the first elongate member 1203 may extendoutwardly and upwardly towards the proximal end 1208 in otherembodiments. The first bracket 1212 is configured to engage a top edgeof a door to support the over-the-door hanging apparatus 1200 from thedoor.

FIGS. 23C and 23D illustrate the manner of mounting the first elongatemember 1203 to the support structure 1201 via the first and secondmounting elements 1205, 1206 of the first pair of mounting elements1204. The first elongate member 1203 is positioned adjacent to the firstand second mounting elements 1205, 1206 of the first pair of mountingelements 1204 so that the first and second mounting elements 1211 a,1211 b of the first elongate member 1203 are aligned with openings intothe channels 1215 of the first and second mounting elements 1205, 1206of the first pair of mounting elements 1204. Next, the first elongatemember 1203 is rotated about an axis that is perpendicular to the firstand second surfaces 1209, 1210 of the first elongate member 1203 so thatthe first mounting element 1211 a of the first elongate member 1203enters into the channel 1215 of the first mounting element 1205 and thesecond mounting element 1211 b of the first elongate member 1203 entersinto the channel 1215 of the second mounting element 1206. Thus, themain difference between this embodiment and those that were previouslydescribed is that the coupling is achieved via a rotational movement ofthe first elongate member 1203 relative to the support structure 1201.The same rotational technique is used for mounting the second elongatemember to the second pair of mounting elements.

Referring to FIGS. 24A-24C concurrently, another embodiment of anover-the-door hanging apparatus 1300 will be described. Theover-the-door hanging apparatus 1300 generally comprises a supportstructure 1301 having a rear surface 1302, first and second elongatemembers 1303, 1313, and first and second pairs of mounting elements1304, 1314. As with the embodiments above with regard to FIGS. 21A-21B,22A-22C, and 23A-23D, FIGS. 24A-24C only illustrate a portion of theover-the-door hanging apparatus 1300 sufficient to show the mount systemfor mounting the first and second elongate members 1303, 1313 to thesupport structure 1301 via the first and second pairs of mountingelements 1304, 1314.

As with the previously described embodiments, the first and second pairsof mounting elements 1304, 1314 are coupled or secured to the rearsurface 1302 of the support structure 1301 on opposite sides of avertical centerline of the support structure 1301. In this embodiment,the first pair of mounting elements 1304 comprises a first mountingelement 1305 and a second mounting element 1306 and the second pair ofmounting elements 1314 comprises a first mounting element 1315 and asecond mounting element 1316. In the exemplified embodiment, the firstand second mounting elements 1305, 1306 of the first pair of mountingelements 1304 are positioned on a single plate and the first and secondmounting elements 1315, 1316 of the first pair of mounting elements 1314are positioned on a single plate. However, the invention is not to belimited in this regard in all embodiments.

The first elongate member 1303 extends from a distal end 1307 to aproximal end 1308 and comprises a first surface 1309 and an oppositesecond surface 1310. The first elongate member 1304 comprises first andsecond mounting elements 1311 a, 1311 b extending from the first surface1309 and a first bracket 1312 extending from the second surface 1310. Ofcourse, more than two mounting elements may extend from the firstsurface 1309 of the first elongate member 1304 in other embodiments. Inthe exemplified embodiment, the first and second mounting elements 1311a, 1311 b are hooks that are configured to cooperate with the first andsecond mounting elements 1305, 1306 of the first pair of mountingelements 1304 to mount the first elongate member 1303 to the supportstructure 1301. In the exemplified embodiment, each of the first andsecond mounting elements 1311 a, 1311 b extends outwardly and upwardlytowards the proximal end 1308 of the first elongate member 1303. Thesecond elongate member 1313 extends from a distal end 1317 to a proximalend 1318 and comprises a first surface 1319 and an opposite secondsurface 1320. The second elongate member 1314 comprises first and secondmounting elements 1321 a, 1321 b extending from the first surface 1319and a second bracket 1322 extending from the second surface 1320. Thefirst and second mounting elements 1321 a, 1321 b are hooks that areconfigured to cooperate with the first and second mounting elements1315, 1316 of the second pair of mounting elements 1314 to mount thesecond elongate member 1313 to the support structure 1301. In theexemplified embodiment, each of the first and second mounting elements1321 a, 1321 b extends outwardly and upwardly towards the proximal end1308 of the first elongate member 1303. The first and second brackets1312, 1322 are configured to engage a top edge of a door to support theover-the-door hanging apparatus 1300 from the door.

The first pair of mounting elements 1304, and specifically the first andsecond mounting elements 1305, 1306 of the first pair of mountingelements 1304, will now be described, it being understood that the samedescription applies to the second pair of mounting elements 1314. In theexemplified embodiment, the first pair of mounting elements 1304 isformed into a plate that is coupled to the rear surface 1302 of thesupport member 1301. However, the invention is not to be so limited inall embodiments and the first pair of mounting elements 1304 may beformed directly into the rear surface 1302 of the support member 1301 oreach mounting element 1305, 1306 of the first pair of mounting elements1304 may be formed into separate plates that are coupled to the rearsurface 1302 of the support member 1301.

The first mounting element 1305 of the first pair of mounting elements1304 comprises an entry region 1330 and a nesting region 1331.Similarly, the second mounting element 1306 of the first pair ofmounting elements 1304 comprises an entry region 1332 and a nestingregion 1333. The entry regions 1330, 1332 are vertically orientedchannels that permit the first and second mounting elements 1311 a, 1311b of the first elongate member 1303 to pass therethrough. The nestingregions 1331, 1333 are horizontally oriented channels.

Thus, as best illustrated in FIGS. 24B and 24C, the first elongatemember 1303 is coupled to the support member 1301 (and more specificallyto the first pair of mounting elements 1304) via a horizontal slidingmotion. Specifically, first the first and second mounting elements 1311a, 1311 b are aligned with and inserted into the entry regions 1330,1332 of the first and second mounting elements 1305, 1306 of the firstpair of mounting elements 1304. Next, the first elongate arm 1303 isslid horizontally relative to the support structure 1301 so that thefirst and second mounting elements 1311 a, 1311 b slide horizontallyalong/within the nesting regions 1331, 1333 of the first and secondmounting elements 1305, 1306 of the first pair of mounting elements1304. There is either a cutout formed into the rear surface 1302 of thesupport structure 1301 or the plate that contains the first pair ofmounting elements 1304 is raised to provide a pocket or open spacewithin which the first and second mounting elements 1311 a, 1311 b cannest. Thus, this embodiment utilizes a horizontal sliding motion betweenthe first elongate arm 1303 and the support structure 1301 to mount thefirst elongate arm 1303 to the support structure 1301 via the first pairof mounting elements 1304.

Referring to FIGS. 25A and 25B, another embodiment of an over-the-doorhanging apparatus 1400 is illustrated and will be described. Theover-the-door hanging apparatus 1400 generally comprises a supportstructure 1401 having a rear surface 1402 and a mirror or other flatarticle coupled to the support structure 1401, first and second elongatemembers 1403, 1413, and a mounting bracket 1404 secured or coupled tothe rear surface 1402 of the support structure 1401. The first andsecond elongate members 1403, 1413 are similar in structure to thepreviously described first and second elongate members. Specifically,the first elongate member 1403 comprises a plurality of mountingelements 1411 (a first mounting element 1411 a, a second mountingelement 1411 b, and a third mounting element 1411 c) and a first bracket1412. The second elongate member 1413 comprises a plurality of mountingelements 1421 (a first mounting element 1421 a, a second mountingelement 1421 b, and a third mounting element 1421 c) and a secondbracket 1422.

The main difference in this embodiment relative to those previouslydescribed is that rather than having a mounting plate or pairs ofmounting elements on the rear surface 1402 of the support structure1401, there is a single mounting bracket 1404. The mounting bracket 1404comprises first portions 1405 that are secured directly to the rearsurface 1402 of the support structure 1401 and second portions 1406 thatare raised relative to the rear surface 1402 of the support structure1401. Thus, the first portions 1405 of the mounting bracket 1404 are indirect surface contact with the rear surface 1402 of the supportstructure 1401 to couple the mounting bracket 1404 to the supportstructure 1401 and the second portions 1406 of the mounting bracket 1404are spaced apart from the rear surface 1402 of the support structure1401. The mounting bracket 1404 extends horizontally along the rearsurface 1402 of the support structure 1401 transverse to a verticalcenterline of the support structure 1401. The first portions 1405 of themounting bracket 1404 are on opposing ends of the mounting bracket 1404and the second portion 1406 of the mounting bracket 1404 extends betweenthe first portions 1405 of the mounting bracket.

FIG. 25A illustrates the first and second elongate members 1403, 1413detached from the mounting bracket 1404 and FIG. 25B illustrates thefirst and second elongate members 1403, 1413 attached or mounted to themounting bracket 1404. To mount the first elongate arm 1403 to themounting bracket 1404, one of the first, second, and third mountingelements 1411 a-c of the first elongate arm 1403 (which may be hooks asdescribed herein above) is aligned with a bottom edge of the raisedportion 1406 of the mounting bracket 1404. The first elongate member1403 is then slid vertically to trap the raised portion 1406 of themounting bracket 1404 within the slot or space formed by the mountingelement 1411 a-c being used. Any of the first, second, and thirdmounting elements 1411 a-c may be used depending on the desired hangingheight of the support structure 1401. Specifically, if the firstmounting element 1411 a is used, the support structure 1401 will hanglower and if the third mounting element 1411 c is used the supportstructure will hang higher. The same technique is used for mounting thesecond elongate member 1413 to the mounting bracket 1404. In FIG. 25B,the second mounting elements 1411 b, 1421 b of the first and secondelongate members 1403, 1413 are used in the mounting.

Although only a single mounting bracket 1404 is used in the exemplifiedembodiment, in alternative embodiments a second mounting bracket mayalso be coupled to the rear surface 1402 of the support structure 1401at a vertical position above or below the mounting bracket 1404. Whentwo mounting brackets are used, two of the mounting elements 1411 a-c,1421 a-c of the first and second elongate embers 1403, 1413 will engagewith mounting brackets simultaneously, resulting in a more secureattachment between the first and second elongate members 1403, 1413 andthe support structure 1401, allowing less potential movement of thesupport structure 1401 when it is hanging from a door as describedherein above.

FIG. 25C illustrates an embodiment of an over-the-door hanging apparatus1500 that is similar to the over-the-door hanging apparatus 1400 ofFIGS. 25A and 25B except as described herein below. Thus, thedescription above with regard to the over-the-door hanging apparatus1400 is applicable to this embodiment except for the differencesspecifically described below. In this embodiment, the mounting bracket1504 has two raised portions 1406 a, 1406 b and three non-raisedportions 1405 a-c. The non-raised portion 1405 c is positioned andextends in between the two raised portions 1406 a, 1406 b. Thus, in thisembodiment the raised portions 1406 a, 1406 b are reduced in lengthrelative to the raised portion 1406 of the over-the-door hangingapparatus 1400. This will reduce horizontal sliding of the first andsecond elongate members 1403, 1413 when the first and second elongatemembers 1403, 1413 are mounted to the mounting bracket 1504.

FIGS. 25D and 25E illustrate still another embodiment of anover-the-door hanging apparatus 1600 that is similar to theover-the-door hanging apparatus 1400 of FIGS. 25A and 25B except asdescribed herein below. Thus, the description above with regard to theover-the-door hanging apparatus 1400 is applicable to this embodimentexcept for the differences specifically described below. In thisembodiment, the mounting bracket 1604 is a generally flat, planarstructure extending across the width of the support structure 1401.However, in this embodiment there are two cutouts 1606 a, 1606 b formedinto the rear surface 1402 of the support structure 1401 from a locationadjacent a top edge 1640 of the mounting bracket 1604 verticallydownwardly beyond a bottom edge 1641 of the mounting bracket 1604.

To mount the first elongated member 1403 to the mounting bracket 1604,one of the mounting elements 1411 a-c of the first elongated member 1403is inserted into the cutout 1606 a, and then the first elongated member1403 is slid upwardly. Similarly, to mount the second elongated member1413 to the mounting bracket 1604, one of the mounting elements 1421 a-cof the second elongated member 1413 is inserted into the cutout 1606 b,and then the second elongated member 1413 is slid upwardly.

Referring to FIG. 26, another embodiment of an over-the-door hangingapparatus 1700 is illustrated. The over-the-door hanging apparatus 1700is similar to the over-the-door hanging apparatus 1000 of FIGS. 21A and21B except that instead of using set screws as the mounting elementsthat are secured to the rear surface 1702 of the support structure 1701and to which the first and second elongated members 1703, 1713 aremounted to the support structure 1701, barbs 1705 a, 1705 b, 1706 a,1706 b are used. Thus, the first and second elongated members 1703, 1713may be aligned with the rear surface 1702 of the support structure 1701as desired, and then the barbs may be inserted into through-holes (i.e.,mounting elements) formed into the first and second elongated members1703, 1713. The material and construction of the barbs 1705 a, 1705 b,1706 a, 1706 b and the material of the support structure 1701 may besuch that the barbs 1705 a, 1705 b, 1706 a, 1706 b are able to be pressfit into the support structure 1701 with the force of a user's hand orthumb/fingers. Alternatively, the rear surface 1702 of the supportstructure 1701 may include pre-drilled holes into which the barbs 1705a, 1705 b, 1706 a, 1706 b may be press-fit to secure the first andsecond elongate members 1703, 1713 to the support structure 1701. Thisembodiment may be used in combination with a plate (not shown) that isaffixed to the rear surface 1702 of the support structure 1701 orwithout such a plate as shown in the exemplified embodiment.

Rather than barbs 1705 a, 1705 b, 1706 a, 1706 b, any type of fastener(bolts, rivets, screws, eye lags, etc.) may be used. Alternatively, theelongated members 1703, 1713 may be secured to the rear surface 1702 ofthe support structure 1701 using adhesive, hook-and-loop fasteners, orthe like.

Referring to FIGS. 27-29 concurrently, a bracket member 2000 will bedescribed in accordance with another embodiment of the presentinvention. FIGS. 27-35D all relate to the bracket member 2000 and itsuse. Specifically, FIGS. 27-29 illustrate the bracket member 2000 byitself, FIGS. 30-32D illustrate the bracket member supporting twodistinct products, and FIGS. 33-35D illustrate the bracket membersupporting two distinct products whereby at least one of the products inFIGS. 33-35D is different than one of the products in FIGS. 30-32D. Thissection of the application will begin with a description of the bracketmember 2000 and will follow with a description of how various productsor support structures are mounted to the bracket member 2000 and how thebracket member 2000 is mounted to a door.

The bracket member 2000 is configured to engage a top edge of a door tomount the bracket member 2000 to the door in a similar manner to thatwhich has been described above. Specifically, the bracket member 2000comprises a top portion 2001 extending from a first end 2002 to a secondend 2003, a first portion 2004 extending along a first axis A-A from thefirst end 2002 of the top portion 2001 to a distal edge 2005, and asecond portion 2006 extending along a second axis B-B from the secondedge 2003 of the top portion 2001 to a distal edge 2007. In theexemplified embodiment, each of the first and second portions 2004, 2006extend perpendicularly from the top portion 2001, although the inventionis not to be so limited in all embodiments. Thus, in the exemplifiedembodiment the bracket member 2000 is in the shape of a “U” although oneof the legs of the “U” is longer than the other as discussed below.

The first portion 2004 has a first length L1 measured from the topportion 2001 to the distal edge 2005 and the second portion 2006 has asecond length L2 measured from the top portion 2001 to the distal edge2007. In the exemplified embodiment, the first length L1 is greater thanthe second length L2. In some embodiments, the first length L1 may bebetween 450 mm and 470 mm and the second length may be between 340 mmand 360 mm. Of course, lengths outside of these ranges are possible inother embodiments as would be understood by persons skilled in the art.In some embodiments the first length L1 may be approximately 100 mm-120mm greater than the second length L2. In some embodiments a ratio ofL1:L2 is between 1.2:1 and 1.4:1, and more specifically approximately1.3:1.

The top portion 2001 of the bracket member 2000 extends along an axisthat is generally perpendicular to the first and second axes A-A, B-B.Furthermore, the first and second axes A-A, B-B, and hence also thefirst and second portions 2004, 2006 of the bracket member 2000, aregenerally parallel to one another. The first and second portions 2004,2006 are spaced apart from one another along their length therebyforming a gap 2008 that is configured to receive a portion of a doorwhen the bracket member 2000 is mounted to the door. Specifically, thebracket member 2000 is mounted to a door by positioning the top portion2001 of the bracket member 2000 adjacent a top edge of the door so thatthe first and second portions 2004, 2006 extend along the front and rearsurfaces of the door, respectively. The bracket member 2000 can slideside-to-side along the door but cannot be removed from the door withoutlifting the bracket member 2000 until the first and second portions2004, 2006 are above the top edge of the door or sliding the bracketmember 2000 until it slides off the free edge of the door (opposite thehinges).

In the exemplified embodiment, the gap 2008 between the first and secondportions 2004, 2006 of the bracket member 2000 has a constant widthmeasured between the first and second portions 2004, 2006 of the bracketmember 2000 (which is generally dictated by the length of the topportion 2001 of the bracket member 2000 measured between the first andsecond ends 2002, 2003). The exact width of the gap 2008 is not limitingof the present invention but may be selected depending on the thicknessof the door to which the bracket member 2000 is to be mounted(approximately 35-55 mm in some embodiments). Furthermore, it ispossible that the bracket member 2000 may be formed of a material thatpermits the first and second portions 2004, 2006 to each bepivoted/rotated relative to the top portion 2001, which would enable thegap 2008 to increase or decrease in width. This may be possible due tothe thickness of the material or the particular material chosenregardless of thickness. However, when in a biased un-pivoted position,the width of the gap 2008 is constant along the entirety of the lengthsof the first and second portions 2004, 2006 of the bracket member 2000.Thus, the bracket member 2000 is a generally U-shaped member such thatwhen it is mounted to the top edge of a door, the top portion 2001 isadjacent to and in contact with the top edge of the door, the firstportion 2004 is adjacent to and possibly in contact with one of themajor surfaces (front or rear) of the door, and the second portion 2006is adjacent to and possibly in contact with the other of the majorsurfaces (front or rear) of the door.

The first portion 2004 of the bracket member 2000 comprises a frontsurface 2009 and an opposite rear surface 2010. Similarly, the secondportion 2006 of the bracket member 2000 comprise a front surface 2011and an opposite rear surface 2012. The rear surface 2010 of the firstportion 2004 of the bracket member 2000 faces the rear surface 2012 ofthe second portion 2006 of the bracket member 2000, although the rearsurfaces 2010, 2012 are separated by the gap 2008 as described herein.When mounted to a door, the rear surfaces 2010, 2012 of the first andsecond portions 2004, 2006 of the bracket member 2000 face and/or are incontact with the door while the front surfaces 2009, 2011 of the firstand second portions 2004, 2006 of the bracket member 2000 face away fromthe door.

A first plurality of hooks 2020 extend from the front surface 2009 ofthe first portion 2004. The first plurality of hooks 2020 are arrangedin a spaced apart manner along the first axis A-A. The first pluralityof hooks 2020 comprises a first hook 2021 adjacent to but spaced apartfrom the distal end 2005 of the first portion 2004 of the bracket member2000 by a first distance D1, a second hook 2022 adjacent to but spacedapart from the first hook 2021 by a second distance D2, and a third hook2023 adjacent to but spaced apart from the second hook 2022 by a thirddistance D3. Thus, none of the hooks 2021, 2022, 2023 of the firstplurality of hooks 2020 is located at the distal end 2005 of the firstportion 2004, but rather all are spaced some distance along the firstaxis A-A from the distal end 2004. As shown in FIG. 29, in theexemplified embodiment the second and third distances D2, D3 are thesame and are greater than the first distance D1. However, the inventionis not to be so limited in all embodiments and the spacing between thehooks 2021, 2022, 2023 may be different in other embodiments.Furthermore, although the exemplified embodiment includes three hooks2021, 2022, 2023 in the first plurality of hooks 2020, the invention isnot to be so limited and the first plurality of hooks 2020 may includetwo hooks or more than three hooks in various alternative embodiments.Furthermore, rather than a plurality of hooks, in some embodiments justone hook may extend from the front surface 2009 of the first portion2004.

The second portion 2006 of the bracket member 2000 comprises a secondplurality of hooks 2030 extending from the front surface 2011 of thesecond portion 2006. The second plurality of hooks 2030 are arranged ina spaced apart manner along the second axis B-B. The second plurality ofhooks 2030 comprises a fourth hook 2031 adjacent to but spaced apartfrom the distal end 2007 of the second portion 2006 of the bracketmember 2000 by a fourth distance D4, a fifth hook 2032 adjacent to butspaced apart from the fourth hook 2031 by a fifth distance D5, and asixth hook 2033 adjacent to but spaced apart from the fifth hook 2032 bya sixth distance D6. Thus, none of the hooks 2031, 2032, 2033 of thesecond plurality of hooks 2030 is located at the distal end 2007 of thesecond portion 2006, but rather all are spaced some distance along thesecond axis B-B from the distal end 2007. The second plurality of hooks2030 may include two hooks or more than three hooks, and in someembodiments there may simply be a single hook rather than a plurality ofhooks extending from the second portion 2006.

As shown in FIG. 29, in the exemplified embodiment the fifth and sixthdistances D5, D6 are the same and are greater than the fourth distanceD4. Furthermore, in the exemplified embodiment the first and fourthdistances D1, D4 are the same and the second, third, fifth, and sixthdistances D2, D3, D5, D6 are the same. In some embodiments, the firstand fourth distances D1, D4 are in a range of approximately 12 mm-15 mmwhereas the second, third, fifth, and sixth distances D2, D3, D5, D6 arein a range of 40 mm-50 mm. Furthermore, in the exemplified embodimentthe length of the hooks (measured from a bottom-most edge of the hook toa top-most edge of the hook in the direction of the axes A-A, B-B) isbetween 10-15 mm. However, these ranges are provided with reference toone possible embodiment and distances/spacing between the hooks outsideof these noted ranges are possible in other embodiments. Furthermore, itshould be appreciated that the invention is not to be limited in allembodiments by the specific spacing illustrated in the drawings anddescribed herein and thus the spacing between the hooks 2031, 2032, 2033may be different in other embodiments. Furthermore, although theexemplified embodiment includes three hooks 2031, 2032, 2033 in thesecond plurality of hooks 2030, the invention is not to be so limitedand the second plurality of hooks 2030 may include two hooks or morethan three hooks in various alternative embodiments (or a single hooks).

Each of the hooks 2021, 2022, 2023, 2031, 2032, 2033 has a widthmeasured along a width of the first or second portion 2004, 2006 of thebracket member 2000 from which it extends that is less than the width ofthe first or second portion 2004, 2006. Thus, the hooks 2021, 2022,2023, 2031, 2032, 2033 do not span the entire width of the bracketmember 2000, but rather are centrally located (in the width direction)within the first or second portion 2004, 2006 from which it extends.This is because in the exemplified embodiment the hooks 2021, 2022,2023, 2031, 2032, 2033 are formed by punching out a portion of the firstand/or second portions 2004, 2006 of the bracket member 2000 andsubsequent bending as described above. Thus, the width of the hooks2021, 2022, 2023, 2031, 2032, 2033 must be less than the width of thefirst and second portions 2004, 2006 of the bracket member 2000.

In the exemplified embodiment, each of the hooks 2021, 2022, 2023, 2031,2032, 2033 is similar in shape and function to the hooks 161, 162described above with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B. Thus, the details ofthe hooks 2021, 2022, 2023, 2031, 2032, 2033 will not be furtherdescribed herein, it being understood that the description already madepreviously herein is applicable. Specifically, despite the descriptionof the hooks 161, 162 being made with regard to a different embodiment,the details remain the same and thus are equally applicable to thisembodiment.

Due to the first length L1 of the first portion 2004 of the bracketmember 2000 being greater than the second length L2 of the secondportion 2006 of the bracket member 2000, the hooks of the first andsecond pluralities of hooks 2020, 2030 are generally not aligned withone another. In fact, although there is some slight overlap between oneof the hooks of the first plurality of hooks 2020 and one of the hooksof the second plurality of hooks 2030 as discussed below, none of thehooks of the first plurality of hooks 2020 is perfectly aligned with anyof the hooks of the second plurality of hooks 2030. Of course, in otherembodiments alignment of the hooks of the first and second pluralitiesof hooks 2020, 2030 may occur.

In the exemplified embodiment, each of the first and second hooks 2021,2022 of the first plurality of hooks 2020 is spaced a greater distancefrom the top portion 2001 of the bracket member 2000 than each of thesecond plurality of hooks 2030. In fact, in the exemplified embodimentthere exists no plane transverse (perpendicular) to the first and secondaxes A-A, B-B that intersects one of the first and second hooks 2021,2022 of the first plurality of hooks 2020 and any portion of the secondportion 2030 of the bracket member 2000. This is because the first andsecond hooks 2021, 2022 of the first plurality of hooks 2020 are locatedat a position on the first portion 2004 of the bracket member 2000 thatextends beyond the distal end 2007 of the second portion 2006 of thebracket member 2000 in a direction of the first and second axes A-A,B-B.

Furthermore, in the exemplified embodiment the third hook 2023 of thefirst plurality of hooks 2020 is transversely aligned with the secondportion 2006 of the bracket member 2000. Specifically, the third hook2023 of the first plurality of hooks 2020 is spaced a greater distancefrom the top portion 2001 than each of the fifth and sixth hooks 2032,2033 of the second plurality of hooks 2030 and a lesser distance fromthe top portion 2001 than the fourth hook 2031 of the second pluralityof hooks 2030. Thus, the fourth hook 2031 is located further from thetop portion 2001 of the bracket member 2000 than the third hook 2023. Ascan be seen, a plane RP1 that is orthogonal to the first and second axesA-A, B-B exists that intersects the third hook 2023 of the firstplurality of hooks 2020 and the fourth hook 2031 of the second pluralityof hooks 2030. The third hook 2023 of the first plurality of hooks 2020and the fourth hook 2031 of the second plurality of hooks 2030 are notin perfect transverse alignment, but they have some overlap whichresults in their both being intersected by the plane RP1. In theexemplified embodiment, the third hook 2023 of the first plurality ofhooks 2020 is closer to the top portion 2001 than the fourth hook 2031of the second plurality of hooks 2030.

Referring to FIGS. 30A, 30B, and 31, an over-the-door hanging apparatus2500 is illustrated that utilizes two of the bracket members 2000 eachcoupled to first and second support structures 2100, 2200 for supportingthe first and second support structures 2100, 2200 by a door 10.Although these figures illustrate two of the bracket members 2000 beingused, the invention is not to be so limited and a single one of thebracket members 2000 may be used by itself without a second bracketmember 2000 while still achieving the same function as described herein,which is to hang the first and second support structures 2100, 2200 fromthe door. Furthermore, more than two of the bracket members 2000 mayalso be used to support each of the first and second support structures2100, 2200 in still other embodiments. Although one specific embodimentis illustrated in the drawings and described herein regarding the mannerof coupling the bracket members 2000 to the first and second supportstructures 2100, 2200, the first and second support structures 2100,2200 may be coupled to the bracket members 2000 in any one of themanners as has been described herein above. Thus, the invention is notto be limited by the specific embodiment shown in the drawings but theentire disclosure set forth in this application may be applicable tothis embodiment, particularly with regard to the details of the mountingelements that are coupled to the support structures 2100, 2200 and themanner of coupling the bracket members 2000 to the support structures2100, 2200.

In the exemplified embodiment, the first support structure 2100comprises a front surface 2101 and an opposite rear surface 2102. Thefirst support structure 2100 extends along a longitudinal axis C-C. Afirst mounting element 2110 is coupled to the rear surface 2102 of thefirst support structure 2100. Similarly, the second support structure2200 comprises a front surface 2201 and an opposite rear surface 2202.The second support structure 2200 extends along a longitudinal axis D-D.A second mounting element 2210 is coupled to the rear surface 2202 ofthe second support structure 2200. In the exemplified embodiment, athird mounting element (not visible in the drawings) having an identicalstructure to the first mounting element 2110 is also coupled to the rearsurface 2102 of the first support structure 2110 and a fourth mountingelement 2211 having an identical structure to the second mountingelement 2210 is coupled to the rear surface 2202 of the second supportstructure 2200. Specifically, as with the embodiments discussedpreviously above, the first and third mounting elements 2110 are coupledto the rear surface 2102 of the first support structure 2100 on oppositesides of the longitudinal axis C-C and the second and fourth mountingelements 2210, 2211 are coupled to the rear surface 2202 of the secondsupport structure 2200 on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis D-D.

In the exemplified embodiment, the first and second mounting elements2110, 2210 (and also the third and fourth mounting elements 2211) areplates having apertures therein that are aligned with apertures in therear surfaces 2102, 2202 of the first and second support structures2100, 2200. Thus, in the exemplified embodiment the mounting elements2210, 2210, 2210 are similar to the mounting plates 120, 220 describedpreviously herein. As such, one or more of the hooks 2021, 2022, 2023,2031, 2032, 2033 of the bracket members 2000 may be inserted through theapertures in the plates to mount the support structures 2100, 2200 tothe bracket members 2000 as has been described herein above withspecific reference to FIGS. 1-9. However, any of the alternativemounting mechanisms can be used as the first and second mountingelements 2110, 2210 in place of the plate such as the plate segments 621of FIG. 10, the mounting plates 820 of FIGS. 15A and 15B, the mountingelements 1104 of FIG. 22A, the mounting elements 1205, 1206 of FIG. 23A,the mounting elements 1304 of FIG. 24A, and the mounting brackets 1404,1504, 1604 of FIGS. 25A-25E. Thus, the entirety of the disclosure setforth in this document is applicable to this particular embodiment. Thedifference is that in this embodiment the bracket member 2000 has twoelongated portions that are each configured to support a product so thatthe bracket member 2000 can support two products rather than just one aswith the embodiments previously described herein. However, the manner inwhich the products are mounted to the bracket member 2000 is the same.

In the exemplified embodiment, a writing surface 2120 is coupled to thefront surface 2101 of the first support structure 2100. Stated anotherway, the writing surface 2120 is exposed at the front surface 2101 ofthe first support structure 2100 so that a user can write on the writingsurface 2120. Thus, the first support structure 2100 is essentially aframe or other type of structure that is configured to support thewriting surface 2120. Collectively, the first support structure 2100 andthe writing surface 2120 form a first product. In the exemplifiedembodiment, the writing surface 2120 may be a chalkboard, a blackboard,a white board or any other type of writing surface on which a user canwrite with a marking instrument and then erase for reuse. Alternatively,the writing surface 2120 may not be reusable in other embodiments butmay instead be a pad of paper or the like that is coupled to the firstsupport structure 2100 and can be written on but generally not erased(unless using pencil).

In the exemplified embodiment, a mirror 2220 is coupled to the frontsurface 2201 of the second support structure 2200. Thus, the mirror 2220is exposed at the front surface 2201 of the second support structure2200 so that a user can view themselves in the mirror as desired. Thus,the second support structure 2200 is essentially a frame or other typeof structure that is configured to support the mirror 2220.Collectively, the second support structure 2200 and the mirror 2220 forma second product.

As with the previously described embodiments, the first supportstructure 2100 is mounted to the (or each when more than one is used asshown in FIGS. 30A and 30B) bracket member 2000 through slidable matingbetween one of the mounting elements 2110 coupled to the rear surface2102 of the first support structure 2100 and at least one of the firstplurality of hooks 2020 of the bracket member 2000. Similarly, thesecond support structure 2200 is mounted to the (or each when more thanone is used as shown in FIGS. 30A and 30B) bracket member 2000 throughslidable mating between one of the mounting elements 2210 coupled to therear surface 2202 of the second support structure 2200 and at least oneof the second plurality of hooks 2030 of the bracket member 2000. Thus,the first and second support structures 2100, 2200 are mounted to thesame bracket member 2000, and possibly to more than one bracket member2000 such as is shown in the exemplified embodiment. Multiple bracketmembers 2000 may be used for mounting each of the first and secondsupport structures 2100, 2200 to provide added support, but this is notrequired in all embodiments and a single bracket member 2200 may be usedas would be appreciated by persons skilled in the art. If a singlebracket member 2200 is used to support the first and second supportstructures 2100, 2200 the mounting elements 2110, 2210 may be located onthe longitudinal axes C-C, D-D of the first and second supportstructures 2100, 2200 to facilitate a proper mounting orientation. Thereare no tools required to achieve the mounting of the first and secondsupport structures 2100, 2200 to the bracket member 2000 as has beendescribed in great detail herein.

FIG. 31 illustrates the first and second support structures 2100, 2200mounted to the bracket member 2000 and the bracket member 2000 mountedto a door 10. As seen, the rear surfaces 2010, 2012 of the first andsecond portions 2004, 2006 of the bracket member 2000 are adjacent toand/or in contact with the opposing major surfaces (i.e., front and rearsurfaces) of the door 10 and the top portion 2001 of the bracket member2000 is adjacent to and/or in contact with the top edge of the door 10.The first support structure 2100 is mounted to the first portion 2004 ofthe bracket member 2000 via at least one of the first plurality of hooks2020 and the second support structure 2200 is mounted to the secondportion 2006 of the bracket member 2000 via at least one of the secondplurality of hooks 2030. This mounting technique results in the writingsurface 2120 being exposed on a first side 11 of the door 10 and themirror 2220 being exposed on the second opposite side 12 of the door 10.

Although in the exemplified embodiment the first support structure 2100(comprising the writing surface 2120) is illustrated and described asbeing coupled to the first portion 2004 of the bracket member 2000 andthe second support structure 2200 (comprising the mirror 2220) isillustrated and described as being coupled to the second portion 2006 ofthe bracket member 2000, the invention is not to be so limited in allembodiments. Thus, this may be flipped in alternative embodiments if sodesired so that the first support structure 2100 is coupled to thesecond portion 2006 of the bracket member 2000 and the second supportstructure 2200 is coupled to the first portion 2004 of the bracketmember 2000. Furthermore, products other than writing surfaces andmirrors may be mounted to the bracket member 2000 in other embodiments,one such embodiment being described herein with reference to FIGS.33-35D. Another product type may be a picture frame, an electronicdisplay, or the like. Really any type of product desired to be hungfrom/mounted to a surface of a door without putting holes into the doorcan be used. Moreover, in some embodiments the same product may be hungfrom both the first and second sides of the door 11, 12 (a mirror, awriting surface, or some other type of product on both opposing sides ofthe door).

FIGS. 32A and 32B are illustrations of the first surface 11 of the door10 having the bracket member 2000 mounted thereon with the first andsecond support structures 2100, 2200 coupled to the bracket member 2000.In this view, only the first support structure 2100 is visible becausethe second support structure 2200 is located at the second surface 12 ofthe door 10 as shown in FIGS. 32C and 32D discussed below. ComparingFIG. 32A to FIG. 32B, these figures illustrate the manner in which thehanging height of the first support structure 2100 may be modifieddepending on which of the first plurality of hooks 2020 the firstmounting element 2110 of the first support structure 2100 is coupled to.Specifically, in FIG. 32A the mounting element 2110 of the first supportstructure 2100 is coupled to the first hook 2021 of the first pluralityof hooks 2020. In FIG. 32B the mounting element 2110 of the firstsupport structure 2100 is coupled to the second and/or the third hook2022, 2023 of the first plurality of hooks 2020. Depending on whichhooks are used, the vertical height of the first support structure 2100on the door 10 may be modified. As seen in these figures, the writingsurface 2120 is exposed at the first surface 11 of the door 10 so that auser can write thereon as desired.

Comparing FIG. 32C to FIG. 32D, these figures illustrate the manner inwhich the hanging height of the second support structure 2200 may bemodified depending in which of the second plurality of hooks 2030 themounting element 2210 of the second support structure 2200 is coupledto. Specifically, in FIG. 32C the mounting element 2210 of the secondsupport structure 2200 is coupled to the fourth hook 2031 of the secondplurality of hooks 2030. In FIG. 32B the mounting element 2210 of thesecond support structure 2200 is coupled to the fifth and/or the sixthhook 2032, 2033 of the second plurality of hooks 2030. Depending onwhich hooks are used, the vertical height of the second supportstructure 2200 on the door 10 may be modified. As seen in this figure,the mirror 2220 is exposed at the second surface 12 of the door 10 sothat a user can view themselves in the mirror 2220 as desired.

In certain embodiments, the invention may be directed to a kit thatcomprises one or two (or more as necessary) of the bracket members 2000,the first support structure 2100 comprising the writing surface (i.e., afirst product), and the second support structure 2200 comprising themirrored surface (i.e., a second product). When packaged, the firstsupport structure 2100 would include the writing surface 2120 and thefirst mounting element 2110 and the second support structure 2200 wouldinclude the mirror 2220 and the second mounting element 2210. Thus,these components may be packaged together into a singular item that issold at a retail store. A user can purchase the item and very easilyhang both the first and second support structures 2100, 2200 from a doorwithout any tools or hardware required. This would be particularlydesirable for a college student who may want to hang a mirror from theinside surface of the door that faces the student's bedroom and achalkboard or whiteboard from the outside surface of the door that facesthe dormitory hallway or other bedroom exterior. Of course, there aremany other uses for a device of this type, including in an officeenvironment, in a home, or at any other location where it would bedesirable to hang two products from opposing sides of a door.

Turning now to FIGS. 33-35D, an over-the-door hanging apparatus 3000 isillustrated in accordance with another embodiment of the presentinvention. This embodiment is the same as the previously describedembodiment illustrated in FIGS. 30A-32D except that the first supportstructure/product has been modified. As noted above, the first productincluded the first support structure 2100, the first mounting element2110 and the writing surface 2120. In this embodiment, the first productis an organizational item 3100 that includes a basket 3101, a hanger3102, clips 3103, hooks 3104, and mounting elements 3105. Theorganizational item 3100 may be a bathroom or shower valet, a bathroomor shower caddy, a set of shelves, or similar type of product.Alternatively, the organizational item 3100 may be any type of productthat assists a user in organizing his or her belongings. A user canstore various items in the basket 3101, can use the hanger 3102 andclips 3103 to hang clothing, and can use the hooks 3104 to hangclothing, bags, purses, hats, or the like. The organizational item 3100generally comprises a wire frame and includes the mounting elements 3105that are configured for coupling/mounting to the first plurality ofhooks 2020 of the first portion 2004 of the bracket member 2000 (or tothe second plurality of hooks 2030 of the second portion 2006 of thebracket member 2000).

FIGS. 35A and 35B illustrate the organizational item 3100 mounted to thebracket member 2000 at two different elevations/heights with theorganizational item 3100 being used to store and hold several of auser's belongings. The hanging height of the organizational item 3100may be readily changed by changing the particular hook to which themounting elements 3105 of the organizational item 3100 are coupled. InFIG. 35A the organizational item 3100 is hung at a lower height than inFIG. 35B. The organizational item 3100 may be hung at a lower heightwhen the user is smaller, such as a child, and the organizational item3100 may be hung at a higher height when the user is taller, such as anadult.

As has been discussed above, although specific product types areillustrated in these figures for mounting to the bracket member 2000,the invention is not to be limited by the products shown in thesedrawings and described herein in all embodiments. Thus, as mentionedabove the same product may be mounted on the opposing sides of the dooror any various combinations of different products may be mounted onopposing sides of the door. The products may be writing surfaces,mirrors, organizational items, shelving units, picture frames, posters,other artwork, clothing hanging units, or any other type of productdesired to be hung from a door. Unless specifically recited as such inthe claims, the invention is not to be limited by the particular productbeing mounted on the bracket member 2000.

Referring to FIG. 36A-37C, an over-the-door hanging apparatus 4000 willbe briefly described. The over-the-door hanging apparatus 4000 generallycomprises a bracket assembly 4100 and a support structure 4300. Thebracket assembly 4100 is intended to be coupled to the support structure4300 and then the bracket assembly 4100 can engage a top edge of a doorto hang the over-the-door hanging apparatus 4000 from the door.

Referring to FIG. 36A, the bracket assembly 4100 will be described ingreater detail. The bracket assembly 4100 has several features that aresimilar to bracket assemblies that have been previously describedherein, such as the bracket assembly 150. Thus, certain features may notbe described in great detail, it being appreciated that the detaileddescription provided above for the bracket assembly 150 or any otherbracket assemblies previously described may be applicable. The bracketassembly 4100 generally comprises at least one mounting element 4140 forcoupling the bracket assembly 4100 to the support structure 4300, atleast one bracket 4150 configured to engage a top edge of a door, and adecorative portion 4130.

More specifically, the bracket assembly 4100 comprises a first elongatemember 4110 and a second elongate member 4120. The first elongate member4110 has a front surface 4111 and an opposite rear surface 4112 and thesecond elongate member 4120 has a front surface 4121 and an oppositerear surface 4122. The at least one bracket 4150 comprises a firstbracket 4150 a extending from the rear surface 4112 of the firstelongate member 4110 and a second bracket 4150 b extending from the rearsurface 4122 of the second elongate member 4120. Each of the first andsecond brackets 4150 a, 4150 b is a U-shaped member that facilitatescoupling of the bracket assembly 4100 to the top edge of a door.Specifically, the U-shaped members of the first and second brackets 4150a, 4150 b may be slid over the top edge of a door as has been describedherein with reference to the previously described embodiments.

Furthermore, in the exemplified embodiment, the at least one mountingelement 4140 comprises a first hook 4140 a and a second hook 4140 bextending from the front surface 4111 of the first elongate member 4110and a first hook 4140 c and a second hook 4140 d extending from thefront surface 4121 of the second elongate member 4120. Of course, moreor less than two hooks may be present on each of the first and secondelongate members 4110, 4120. For example, each of the first and secondelongate members 4110, 4120 may include a single hook, three hooks, oreven more than three hooks. Moreover, although hooks are used in theexemplified embodiment as the mounting elements 4140 of the bracketassembly 4100, the invention is not to be so limited. In otherembodiments, the mounting elements 4140 of the bracket assembly 4100 maybe apertures rather than hooks. In still other embodiments, the mountingelements 4140 may include additional hardware such as screws, nails, orthe like for coupling the bracket assembly 4100 to the support structure4300. Where the mounting elements 4140 are hardware, they may still beconsidered to form a part of the bracket assembly 4100 despite being aseparate component. Thus, if the mounting element is a screw thatcouples the bracket assembly 4100 to the support structure 4300, thescrew may be considered to form part of the bracket assembly 4100.Furthermore, in still other embodiments the mounting elements 4140 maybe hook-and-loop fasteners, adhesive, bolts, pins, key and/or slot, orthe like. Furthermore, combinations of mounting elements such as hooksthat engage with apertures as well as hardware may be used to couple thebracket assembly 4100 to the support structure 4300. Thus, the bracketassembly 4100 may be coupled to the support structure using atools-based system, a no-tools system, or a combination thereof.

In the exemplified embodiment, the hooks 4140 a-d are intended to engagea plate similar to that which has been described above with regard tothe hooks 161, 162 and the mounting plates 120. Of course, if themounting elements are apertures instead of hooks, the mounting plate mayhave hooks that engage the apertures on the bracket assembly 4100. Theseembodiments are used for a no tools assembly of the over-the-doorhanging apparatus 4000 (i.e., no tools such as screwdrivers or hammersare needed for assembly). However, the invention is not to be so limitedand it is possible that a tools-based assembly may be required, forexample in embodiments whereby hardware such as screws, nails, or thelike are used as the mounting element or a portion thereof to couple thebracket assembly 400 to the support structure 4300.

In addition, the bracket assembly 4100 comprises the decorative portion4130. The decorative portion 4130 may be any type of aesthetic designdesirable. For example, the decorative portion 4130 may be a randomdesign that is aesthetically pleasing, it may be a series of letters,numbers, or words, it may be a depiction of a particular object orobjects with a theme, such as a bat and ball for a baseball theme, itmay depict a particular scene or object (i.e., a flower, a mountainlandscape, a known-tourist attraction or symbol) or the like. Thedecorative portion 4130 may also visually represent an animal, such as ahorse, dog, cat, or the like, or it may have the text of a person's nameor other desired text such as words of encouragement or words or thelike. Thus, the invention is not to be particularly limited by thespecific appearance of the decorative portion 4130 except that it shouldbe something that is decorative and appeals to a certain group ofpeople. Thus, the decorative portion 4130 must be ornamental rather thanpurely functional.

In the exemplified embodiment, the decorative portion 4130 extendsbetween the first and second elongate members 4110, 4120. Furthermore,the decorative portion 4130 is located between the mounting elements4140 and the brackets 4150. This ensures that the decorative portion4130 is located at a position on the over-the-door hanging apparatus4000 that ensures that it will be visible to a user to create a desiredaesthetic appeal to the over-the-door hanging apparatus 4000.

In the embodiment exemplified in FIG. 36A, the bracket assembly 4100 isan integrally formed monolithic component that comprises the first andsecond elongate members 4110, 4120, the mounting elements 4140, thebrackets 4150, and the decorative portion 4130. The bracket assembly4100 may be a sheet of stamped metal, lasered MDF, or the like asdesired in various different embodiments. Of course, as noted above themounting elements 4140 may be or include hardware, and in such a casethe hardware will be a separate structure although the rest of thebracket assembly 4100 may be a monolithic component.

Referring to FIG. 36B, an alternative embodiment of a bracket assembly4200 is illustrated. The bracket assembly 4200 comprises a first portion4201 and a second portion 4205. The first portion 4201 of the bracketassembly 4200 comprises the first elongate member 4202, the firstbracket 4203, and a first portion of a decorative member 4204. Thesecond portion 4205 of the bracket assembly 4200 comprises the secondelongate member 4206, the second bracket 4208, and a second portion ofthe decorative member 4207. The first and second portions 4201, 4205 ofthe bracket assembly 4200 are separate components and each of them is anintegrally formed monolithic component. When each of the first andsecond portions 4201, 4205 of the bracket assembly 4200 is coupled tothe support structure 4300, the first and second portions of thedecorative member 4204, 4207 collectively form the decorative member.Specifically, in the assembled/installed state, the first and secondportions of the decorative member 4204, 4207 abut one another to formthe full appearance of the decorative member. Thus, FIGS. 37B and 37C,described more fully below, are applicable to the assembled/installedstate for both the bracket assembly 4100 and the bracket assembly 4200.

Referring to FIG. 37A, the support structure 4300 and the bracketassembly 4100 are illustrated in an exploded state with a rear surface4301 of the support structure 4300 exposed in this view. Similar to theembodiments described above, for example FIGS. 1 and 2, in thisembodiment a first mounting plate 4310 and a second mounting plate 4311are coupled to the rear surface 4301 of the support structure 4300 onopposite sides of a vertical centerline Z-Z of the support structure4300. The discussion of the mounting plate 120 and the manner in whichit is coupled to the frame 101 is applicable to the first and secondmounting plates 4310, 4311 and the manner in which they are coupled tothe support structure 4300. Briefly, the first mounting plate 4310comprises at least one aperture 4312 that is aligned with a channelformed into the rear surface 4301 of the support structure 4300. The atleast one aperture 4312 is defined by a closed-geometry edge 4313 suchthat the first mounting plate 4310 comprises at least one edge. Thesecond mounting plate 4311 has an identical structure and arrangement.

Referring collectively to FIGS. 37A and 37B, in the exemplifiedembodiment the bracket assembly 4100 is coupled to the rear surface 4301of the support structure 4300 via slidable engagement between at leastone of the first and second hooks 4140 a, 4140 b of the first elongatemember 4110 and the first mounting plate 4110 and at least one of thefirst and second hooks 4140 c, 4140 d of the second elongate member 4120and the second mounting plate 4111. Of course, this is merely anexemplary embodiment and other techniques for coupling the bracketassembly 4100 to the support structure 4300 are possible in accordancewith the invention described herein. For example, the bracket assembly4100 may have apertures that engage hooks or protrusions on the mountingplates 4110, 4111. Alternatively, the mounting plate 4110, 4111 may beomitted (or not) and the bracket assembly 4100 may be coupled directlyto the rear surface 4301 of the support structure 4300 (or to themounting plate 4110, 4111 when included) using hardware-type fasteners,adhesive, hook-and-loop, or the like. Thus, with regard to thisembodiment, the invention is not to be particularly limited by themanner in which the bracket assembly 4100 is coupled to the supportstructure 4300 to form the over-the-door hanging apparatus 4000. Asmentioned above, a no-tools or tools-based assembly may be used forcoupling the bracket assembly 4100 to the support structure 4300.

Referring to FIGS. 37B and 37C concurrently, when the bracket assembly4100 is coupled to the support structure 4300, at least a portion of thedecorative portion 4130 of the bracket assembly 4100 protrudes from atop edge 4302 of the support structure 4300. Thus, when theover-the-door hanging apparatus 4000 is made to hang from a door 10 bysliding the brackets 4150 over the top edge of the door 10, the portionof the decorative portion 4130 that protrudes from the top edge 4302 ofthe support structure 4300 is exposed for viewing by a user. In FIG.37C, the decorative portion 4130, or at least a portion thereof, islocated between the top edge 4302 of the support structure 4300 and thetop edge of the door 10 from which the bracket 4150 of the bracketassembly 4100 is hanging.

As seen in FIG. 37C, in the exemplified embodiment a mirror 4305 iscoupled to the support structure 4300 and exposed on a front surface4303 of the support structure 4300. Thus, when the over-the-door hangingapparatus 4000 is hanging from the door 10, the rear surface 4301 of thesupport structure 4300 is facing the door 10 and the front surface 4303of the support structure 4300, the mirror 4305, and the decorativeportion 4130 of the bracket assembly 4100 are exposed. Of course, themirror 4305 is not required in all embodiments and the support structure4300 may support a photograph, illustration, poster, chalkboard,whiteboard, cork board, or any other item that is desired to bedisplayed while being hung from a door.

In this embodiment, the decorative portion 4130 of the bracket assembly4100 adds an aesthetic design feature to the over-the-door hangingapparatus 4000 and it can be tailored to a particular user's desires orinterests. For example, in FIG. 37C the decorative portion 4130 is ageneric aesthetic design feature. However, FIGS. 38A-38C illustratealternative designs for the decorative portion. Specifically, FIG. 38Aillustrates a decorative portion 4130 a that has the word “Princess” anda heart. FIG. 38B illustrates a decorative portion 4130 b that has atwig or branch with two birds kissing. FIG. 38C illustrates a decorativeportion 4130 c with the words “Be You.” In alternative embodiments notillustrated herein, the decorative portion 4130 could be a theme, suchas a sports theme, a hiking theme, a dance theme, a music theme, or anyother type of theme imaginable. The decorative portion 4130 could alsobe text in the form of a person's name or initials. The possibilitiesfor the specific details of the various decorative portions arevirtually endless. The requirements for the decorative portion 4130 aremerely that it protrudes from the top edge 4302 of the support structure4300 when the bracket assembly 4100 is coupled to the support structure4300 and that it comprises ornamentation or some type of a designintended to add a desired aesthetic to the over-the-door hangingapparatus 4000. Thus, the decorative portion 4130 includes aspecifically added design to add a decorative feature or ornamentaldesign to the over-the-door hanging apparatus 4000. In some embodiments,the decorative portion 4130 is purely ornamental and not functionalother than the fact that it creates a desirable aesthetic and makes theover-the-door hanging apparatus 4000 more desirable from an aestheticstandpoint.

Referring to FIGS. 39A and 39B, an accessory hook 4400 is illustrated inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The accessoryhook 4400 is intended to be coupled to a support structure in additionto a bracket assembly as has been described previously herein. Thus, thebracket assembly will serve to hang the over-the-door hanging apparatusfrom a door as previously described and the accessory hook 4400 providesadditional hooks on which a user can hang various articles such as hats,clothing, sunglasses, purses or other bags, or the like. The details ofthe accessory hooks 4400 will be described with reference to FIGS. 39Aand 39B, and the manner in which they may be coupled to a supportstructure will be described with reference to FIGS. 40A-40B.

In this embodiment, the accessory hook 4400 generally comprises anelongate member 4410 having a front surface 4410 and an opposite rearsurface 4412, at least one mounting element 4413 extending from the rearsurface 4412, an arm 4414 extending from the front surface 4411, and ahook member 4415 extending from the arm 4414. In the exemplifiedembodiment, the elongate member 4410 extends from a first end 4416 to asecond end 4417 along a longitudinal axis Y-Y.

Furthermore, in the exemplified embodiment the at least one mountingelement 4413 comprises a first hook 4413 a and a second hook 4413 b. Thefirst and second hooks 4413 a, 4413 b extend outwardly and downwardlyfrom the elongate member 4410 to facilitate coupling of the accessoryhook 4400 to the support structure in a similar manner to the manner inwhich the hooks of the bracket assembly previously described are used tocouple the bracket assembly to the support structure. In otherembodiments, a single hook or more than two hooks could be used.Furthermore, the at least one mounting element 4413 need not be hooks inall embodiments but can be any feature that permits coupling of theaccessory hook 4400 to the support structure. For example, the at leastone mounting element 4413 can be an aperture in the elongate member 4410that engages with a hook on a mounting plate that is secured to the rearsurface of the support structure. Furthermore, the at least one mountingelement 4413 may not be integral with the elongate member 4410 in allembodiments, but it may be a separate piece of hardware such as a screw,nail, hook-and-loop, adhesive, or other type of fastener that securesthe accessory hook 4400 to the support structure. Thus, similar to theprevious embodiment, in this embodiment the assembly is not limited to ano-tools assembly but the use of tools may be required depending in themanner in which the bracket assembly and the accessory hook 4400 arecoupled to the support structure.

In the exemplified embodiment, the hooks 4413 a, 4413 b extend from therear surface 4412 of the elongate member 4410 and the arms 4414 extendfrom the front surface 4411 of the elongate member 4410. In theexemplified embodiment, there are three arms 4414 and three hook members4415, but there could be more or less than three of each of thesefeatures in other embodiments. As shown, the arms 4414 extend from afirst end 4418 to a second end 4419 along an axis X-X. In theexemplified embodiment, the axis X-X of the arms 4414 is perpendicularto the longitudinal axis Y-Y of the elongate member 4410. Of course, inother embodiments the axis X-X of the arms 4414 may be oblique to thelongitudinal axis Y-Y of the elongate member 4410. The first end 4418 ofthe arms 4414 are coupled to the elongate member 4410. The hook members4415 are coupled to the second ends 4419 of each of the arms 4414.

Turning to FIGS. 40A and 40B, the coupling of the accessory hooks 4400to a support structure 4500 will be described. FIG. 40A illustrates theaccessory hooks 4400 separated from the support structure 4500 and FIG.40B illustrates the accessory hooks 4400 coupled to the supportstructure 4500. The accessory hooks 4400 can be coupled to and decoupledfrom the support structure 4500 as desired, and thus the accessory hooks4400 are alterable between a detached state (FIG. 40A) and an attachedstate (FIG. 40B). In FIG. 40A, a bracket assembly 4600 is illustratedcoupled to a rear surface 4501 of the support structure 4500 in the samemanner as described above with reference to FIGS. 1-6. However, thedetails of the bracket assembly 4600 and the manner in which it iscoupled to the support structure 4500 may be similar to any of the otherembodiments described herein. For example, the bracket assembly 4600 mayinclude a decorative portion and the mounting elements of the bracketassembly 4600 may have any of the various shapes as shown in thedifferent embodiments described herein. Furthermore, although in FIGS.40A and 40B the bracket assembly 4600 is coupled to the supportstructure 4500 using a no-tools arrangement via engagement between hooksof the bracket assembly 4600 and apertures of a mounting plate 4550, theinvention it not to be so limited in all embodiments and tools may berequired to secure the bracket assembly 4600 to the support structure4500 using screws or other hardware.

In the exemplified embodiment, a mounting plate 4550 is coupled to therear surface 4501 of the support structure 4500 and the bracket assembly4600 and the accessory hooks 4400 are coupled to the mounting plate4550. In this regard, the mounting plate 4500 is similar to the mountingplate 120 described with reference to FIGS. 1-6 except that it has beenlengthened and made to include more apertures so that both the bracketassembly 4600 and the accessory hooks 4400 can be coupled to the samemounting plate 4550. Of course, using the mounting plate 4550 for thecoupling of the bracket assembly 4600 and/or the accessory hooks 4400 tothe support structure 4500 is only one manner to accomplish saidcoupling. Other techniques and processes can be used, including separatehardware, adhesive, hook-and-loop, mechanical interlock, and the like.

As shown in FIGS. 40A and 40B, in the exemplified embodiment when thebracket assembly 4600 is coupled to the rear surface 4501 of the supportstructure 4500, the mounting plate 4550 has apertures that are unused bythe bracket assembly 4600 (best seen in FIG. 40A) and thus available foruse to couple the accessory hooks 4400 to the support structure 4500.Thus, in the exemplified embodiment the accessory hooks 4400 are coupledto the support structure 4500 via slidable engagement between the firstand second hooks 4413 a, 4413 b of the accessory hooks 4400 and theavailable apertures and edges of the mounting plate 4550. Stated simply,the accessory hook 4400 is coupled to the rear surface 4501 of thesupport structure 4500 via slidable mating between the at least onemounting element 4413 of the accessory hook 4400 and one or more edgesof the mounting plate 4550. Although both the bracket assembly 4600 andthe accessory hooks 4400 are coupled to the same mounting plate 4550, itshould be appreciated that they are separate components in theexemplified embodiment. However, in other embodiments the arms 4414 andthe hook members 4415 could extend from the elongate members of thebracket assembly 4600 rather than from a separate component. Thus, thebracket assembly 4600 and the accessory hook 4400 could be a single,unitary structure in some embodiments rather than being two separatecomponents as illustrated in the exemplified embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 40B and 42, the bracket assembly 4600 and theaccessory hook 4400 are both coupled to the support structure 4500 toform an over-the-door hanging apparatus 4700. As seen in FIG. 40B, thehooks of the bracket assembly 4600 and the hooks of the accessory hook4400 extend in opposite directions. The support structure 4500 has therear surface 4501, a front surface 4502, and a perimetric edge 4503extending between the front and rear surfaces 4501, 4502. The perimetricedge 4503 includes a top edge 4504, a bottom edge 4505, a first lateraledge 4506, and a second lateral edge 4507. Similar to the previouslydescribed embodiments, in this embodiment a mirror 4560 is supported bythe support structure 4500 and exposed at the front surface 4502 of thesupport structure 4500. The mirror 4560 is only used in the exemplifiedembodiment and can be replaced by a photograph, poster, chalkboard,whiteboard, cork board, or the like in other embodiments.

In the fully assembled state, each of the hook members 4415 is locatedadjacent to the perimetric edge 4503 of the support structure 4500 in aspaced apart manner. More specifically, each of the hook members 4515 isadjacent to one of the first and second lateral edges 4506, 4507 of thesupport structure 4500. In the exemplified embodiment, the hook members4515 are spaced apart from the lateral edge 4506, 4507 that they areadjacent to. In this regard, the arms 4414 have a length that enablesthe arms 4414 to protrude from the perimetric edge 4503 of the supportstructure 4500 to maintain the hook members 4515 at a location that isspaced apart from the perimetric edge 4503 of the support structure4500. Thus, there is a space having a distance D7 between the hookmembers 4515 and the one of the first and second lateral edges 4506,4507 of the support structure that the hook members 4515 are adjacentto. Of course, the invention is not to be so limited and the hookmembers 4515 could be located right up against the perimetric edge 4503of the support structure 4500 in other embodiments without affecting thefunctionality and accessibility of the hook members 4515. As shown inFIG. 42, the hook members 4515 can be used to hang various items fromthe over-the-door hanging apparatus 4700, such as a hat, glasses, ascarf, other articles of clothing, or any other item that can beproperly hung from one of the hook members 4515. This can be quiteadvantageous, particularly in small rooms such as dorm rooms where spaceis at a premium.

FIGS. 41A and 41B illustrate an alternative embodiment of anover-the-door hanging apparatus 4800 that includes one or more accessoryhooks 4900. Specifically, in this embodiment the bracket assembly 4600and the accessory hooks 4900 do not couple to the same mounting plate.Rather, the bracket assembly 4600 is coupled to the rear surface 4501 ofthe support structure 4500 using a mounting plate 4650 that is similarto the type that has been previously described herein. However, in thisembodiment the accessory hooks 4900 are not also coupled to the samemounting plate 4650. Rather, the accessory hooks 4900 are coupled to therear surface 4501 of the support structure 4500 using one or moreaccessory mounting plates 4950 that are secured to the rear surface 4501of the support structure 4500. The accessory mounting plate 4950 may besecured to the rear surface 4501 of the support structure 4500 in anydesired manner such as hardware (i.e., screws, nails, or the like),adhesive, hook-and-loop, or the like.

In this embodiment, each of the accessory hooks 4900 comprises an arm4901 extending from a first end 4902 to a second end 4903. The accessoryhook 4900 comprises a mounting element 4904 extending from the first end4902 of the arm 4901 and a hook member 4905 extending from the secondend 4903 of the arm 4901. In the exemplified embodiment, the mountingelement 4904 has a greater cross-sectional area than the arm 4901. Theaccessory mounting plate 4950 comprises a receiving cavity 4951. In theexemplified embodiment, the accessory hook 4900 is coupled to theaccessory mounting plate 4950 via mechanical engagement between themounting element 4904 of the accessory hook 4900 and the receivingcavity 4951 of the accessory mounting plate 4950.

Specifically, in this embodiment the accessory hook 4900 is coupled tothe accessory mounting plate 4950 by sliding/translating the accessoryhook 4900 towards the accessory mounting plate 4950 in a direction ofthe longitudinal axis of the accessory hook 4900 until the mountingelement 4904 of the accessory hook 4900 enters the receiving cavity 4951of the accessory mounting plate 4950. In the exemplified embodiment, theaccessory hook 4900 is coupled to the accessory mounting plate 4950 viaa frictional fit between the mounting element 4904 of the accessory hook4900 and the receiving cavity 4951 of the accessory mounting plate 4950.However, other techniques for coupling the accessory hook 4900 to theaccessory mounting plate 4950 are possible and fall within the scope ofthe invention described herein.

FIGS. 40A, 40B and FIGS. 41A, 41B illustrate two alternative embodimentsfor coupling accessory hooks 4400, 4900 to a support structure. However,other techniques are possible for coupling accessory hooks to a supportstructure. In a generic sense, the invention in accordance with thisembodiment is directed to an over-the-door hanging apparatus thatincludes a support structure, a bracket assembly coupled to the supportstructure for hanging the over-the-door hanging apparatus from a door,and an accessory hook coupled to the support structure, the accessoryhook having a hook member that is spaced apart from a perimetric edge ofthe support structure. Alternatively, the hook member of the accessoryhook may be located immediately adjacent to the perimetric edge of thesupport structure rather than being spaced apart from the perimetricedge of the support structure so long as it remains possible to hang anitem (i.e., a hat, scarf, coat, or the like) from the hook member of theaccessory hook. Although the accessory hooks 4400, 4900 are describedherein as being coupled to the rear surface 4501 of the supportstructure 4500, the invention is not to be so limited and the accessoryhooks 4400, 4900 may be coupled to the peripheral edge 4503 of thesupport structure 4500 or to the front surface 4502 of the supportstructure 4500 in alternative embodiments.

Referring to FIGS. 43A-43C, an over-the-door hanging apparatus 5000 willbe described in accordance with yet another embodiment of the presentinvention. The over-the-door hanging apparatus 5000 generally comprisesa support structure 5100 having a rear surface 5101, and a first strap5110 and a second strap 5120 configured to be coupled to the rearsurface 5101 of the support structure 5100. The first and second straps5110, 5120, when coupled to the rear surface 5101 of the supportstructure 5100, are configured to wrap around at least a portion of adoor to hang the support structure 5100 from the door.

As with the previously described embodiments, in the present embodimentthe support structure 5100 supports a mirror 5103 at its front surface.However, the invention is not to be so limited and the support structure5100 may support other items such as photographs, pictures, posterboards, a chalkboard, a white board, a cork board, or the like. Thus,the support structure 5100 may support any item that is desired to behung from a door for display and/or use.

Furthermore, as with previously described embodiments, in the presentembodiment a first mounting plate 5130 and a second mounting plate 5140are coupled to the rear surface 5101 of the support structure 5100 onopposite sides of a vertical centerline W-W of the support structure5100. The first and second mounting plates 5130, 5140 may have the samestructure as the mounting plates 120, 220 previously described. Thus,the first and second mounting plates 5130, 5140 may be placed over achannel in the rear surface 5101 of the support structure 5100 so thatapertures formed into the first and second mounting plates 5130, 5140are aligned with the channel in the rear surface 5101 of the supportstructure 5100. In the exemplified embodiment, the first and secondstraps 5110, 5120 are coupled to the first and second mounting plates5130, 5140, respectively. Of course, the first and second mountingplates 5130, 5140 might not be required in all embodiments and the firstand second straps 5110, 5120 may be coupled to the rear surface 5101 ofthe support structure 5100 in other ways including any technique thathas been described throughout this disclosure for coupling components tothe rear surface of the support structure.

The first and second straps 5110, 5120 may be formed of a resilientand/or flexible material. In the exemplified embodiment, each of thefirst and second straps 5110, 5120 is formed of a textile which providesthe first and second straps 5110, 5120 with the necessary flexibility toenable them to wrap around the upper corners of a door as describedherein. Of course, other materials are possible, including leather,rubber or other elastomeric materials, or other flexible material, solong as the functionality described herein is maintained. The first andsecond straps 5110, 5120 are preferably formed of a material thatpermits the first and second straps 5110, 5120 to be stretched and thenbiased back to their normal size and shape. The first and second straps5110, 5120 may comprise a decorative color or pattern. Specifically, thefirst and second straps 5110, 5120 may comprise a textile or othermaterial having a desired color (the first and second straps 5110, 5120may have the same color or a different color), or the first and secondstraps 5110, 5120 may have a decorative pattern or the like thereon tocreate a desired aesthetic.

In the exemplified embodiment, each of the first and second straps 5110,5120 are in the form of a loop or ring, without specific regard to theshape of the loop or ring. Specifically, the first and second straps5110, 5120 may form a circular loop, an oval loop, a rectangular loop,other polygonal shaped loops, or the like so long as they form a closedloop. Depending on the flexibility of the material used to form thestraps 5110, 5120, the straps 5110, 5120 may not have a defined shape.

In the exemplified embodiment, a first clip 5111 is coupled to the firststrap 5110 and a second clip 5121 is coupled to the second strap 5120.The first and second clips 5111, 5121 may be fixedly and non-movablycoupled to the first and second straps 5110, 5120, respectively.Alternatively, the first and second clips 5112, 5122 may be configuredto move relative to the first and second straps 5110, 5120,respectively. This is dictated by the manner in which the first andsecond clips 5111, 5121 is coupled to the first and second straps 5110,5120. The first clip 5111 comprises a first mounting element 5112 andthe second clip 5121 comprises a second mounting element 5122. In theexemplified embodiment, the first mounting element 5112 comprises firstand second hooks 5113 a, 5113 b and the second mounting element 5122comprises first and second hooks 5122 a, 5122 b. Of course, the firstand second mounting elements 5112, 5122 need not be hooks in allembodiments, but may instead be apertures that engage with hooks on themounting plates 5130, 5140 (in instances where the mounting plate 5130,5140 have hooks instead of apertures for coupling to the first andsecond straps 5110, 5120). Alternatively, the first and second mountingelements 5112, 5122 may be any other structure configured to couple thefirst and second straps 5110, 5120 to the support structure 5100.Furthermore, in other embodiments the first and second straps 5110, 5120may be coupled to the support structure 5100 using other techniques,such as hook-and-loop fasteners, hardware including screws, nails, orthe like, adhesive, mechanical features having interference orfriction-type fits, or the like.

In this embodiment, the first mounting element 5112 of the first clip5111 is coupled to the first mounting plate 5130 and the second mountingelement 5122 of the second clip 5121 is coupled to the second mountingplate 5140, thereby coupling the first and second straps 5110, 5120 tothe rear surface 5101 of the support structure 5100. This is achieved inthe exemplified embodiment via engagement between the hooks 5112 a, 5112b of the first clip 5111 and the apertures/edges of the first mountingplate 5130 and the hooks 5122 a, 5122 b of the second clip 5121 and theapertures/edges of the second mounting plate 5140. Of course, the firstand second mounting plates 5130, 5140 could be omitted and the first andsecond mounting elements 5112, 5122 of the first and second clips 5111,5121 could be coupled directly to the rear surface 5101 of the supportstructure 5100 using any technique described with regard to any of theembodiments disclosed herein.

When the first and second straps 5110, 5120 are coupled to the rearsurface 5101 of the support structure 5100, they are located on oppositesides of the vertical centerline W-W of the support structure 5100. Oncethe first and second straps 5110, 5120 are coupled to the rear surface5101 of the support structure 5100, the first and second straps 5110,5120 can then be coupled to the door 10 to hang the support structure5100 from the door. Specifically, the first strap 5110 is made to wraparound a first upper corner 20 of the door 10 and the second strap 5120is made to wrap around a second upper corner 21 of the door 10.

More specifically, in the exemplified embodiment the door 10 has a topedge 22, a bottom edge 23 opposite the top edge 22, a first lateral edge24, and a second lateral edge 25 opposite the first lateral edge 24.Each of the first and second lateral edges 24, 25 extends between thetop and bottom edges 22. When the first and second straps 5110, 5120 arecoupled to the door 10, the first strap 5110 wraps around the firstupper corner 20 of the door 10 so that the first strap 5110 is in directcontact with the top edge 22 of the door 10 and the first lateral edge24 of the door 10 and the second strap 5120 wraps around the secondupper corner 21 of the door 10 so that the second strap 5120 is indirect contact with the top edge 22 of the door 10 and the secondlateral edge 25 of the door 10. Thus, the first upper corner 20 of thedoor 10 is located within the loop formed by the first strap 5110 andthe second upper corner 21 of the door 10 is located within the loopformed by the second strap 5120. The weight of the support structure5000 in conjunction with the force of gravity maintains theover-the-door hanging apparatus 5000 in the position illustrated in FIG.43C when the over-the-door hanging apparatus 5000 is hung from the door10.

In certain embodiments, each of the first and second straps 5110, 5120may have a length adjustment feature 5115 that permits adjustment of thelength of material of the first and second straps 5110, 5120. Morespecifically, adjusting the length adjustment feature 5115 will changethe diameter of the loop that is formed by the first and second straps5110, 5120. This will permit the support structure 5100 to be hunghigher on the door 10 when the diameter of the loop is decreased andlower on the door 10 when the diameter of the loop is increased.Although the length adjustment feature 5115 is only illustrated on thefirst strap 5110, it may of course also be included on the second strap5120.

FIG. 44 illustrates an alternative embodiment of an over-the-doorhanging apparatus 5200 in position coupled to the door 10. Similar tothe previous embodiment, the over-the-door hanging apparatus 5200comprises a support structure 5210 having a rear surface, a first strap5220 coupled to the rear surface of the support structure 5210, and asecond strap 5230 coupled to the rear surface of the support structure5210. Each of the first and second straps 5220, 5230 may form a closedloop as with the previous embodiment. Alternatively, the first andsecond straps 5220, 5230 may not be in the form of a closed loop, butmay instead have a first end coupled to the rear surface of the supportstructure 5210 at a first axial location along the rear surface of thesupport structure 5210 and a second end coupled to the rear surface ofthe support structure 5220 at a second axial location along the rearsurface of the support structure 5210. The first axial location may beadjacent to the top end of the support structure 5210 and the secondaxial location may be adjacent to the bottom end of the supportstructure 5210 or it may be at any location between the first axiallocation and the bottom end of the support structure 5210. In thisembodiment, the first and second straps 5220, 5230 have a length that isgreater than a length of the door measured from the bottom edge 23 ofthe door 10 to the top edge 22 of the door 10.

In this embodiment, the first and second straps 5220, 5230 do not justwrap around a corner of the door, but rather they wrap around least: (1)the portion of the door that extends from a top edge 5211 of the supportstructure to the top edge 22 of the door 10; (2) the entire rear surfaceof the door (the surface opposite the surface that is adjacent to therear surface of the support structure 5210; and (3) the portion of thedoor that extends from the bottom edge 23 of the door 10 to the bottomedge 5212 of the support structure 5210. Thus, the first and secondstraps 5220, 5230 wrap around the top edge 22 of the door 10, the bottomedge 23 of the door 10, and the rear surface of the door 10. In someembodiments, depending on the length of the first and second straps5220, 5230 and the manner in which they are coupled to the rear surfaceof the support structure 5210, the first and second straps 5220, 5230may wrap around an entirety of an axial circumference of the door 10.

Due to the manner in which the first and second straps 5220, 5230 arearranged and located, in this embodiment the support structure 5210 canmove vertically and horizontally along the door 10 while remainingcoupled to the door 10 as illustrated in FIG. 44. The first and secondstraps 5220, 5230 may also include a length adjustment feature aspreviously described with reference to the first and second straps 5110,5120 to enable the first and second straps 5220, 5230 to fit arounddifferent sized doors. Furthermore, although the exemplified embodimentillustrates two straps, in some embodiments only one of the first andsecond straps 5220, 5230 may be needed to hang the over-the-door hangingapparatus 5200 from the door 10. In such an embodiment, the single strapmay be located along the vertical centerline V-V of the supportstructure 5200 rather than being offset therefrom as with theexemplified embodiment that uses first and second straps 5220, 5230located on opposite sides of the vertical centerline V-V of the supportstructure 5200.

Referring to FIGS. 45-46B, an over-the-door hanging apparatus 5300 willbe described in accordance with yet another embodiment of the presentinvention. The over-the-door hanging apparatus 5300 generally comprisesa support structure 5400 having a rear surface 5401, a mounting plate5450 secured to the rear surface 5401 of the support structure 5400, anda bracket assembly 5500 detachably coupled to the rear surface 5401 ofthe support structure 5400. In the exemplified embodiment, the bracketassembly 5500 is coupled to the mounting plate 5450, but in alternativeembodiments the mounting plate 5450 may be omitted and the bracketassembly 5500 may be coupled directly to the rear surface 5501 of thesupport structure 5500.

In this embodiment, the mounting plate 5450 comprises a first aperture5451 defined by a first closed-geometry edge 5452 and a second aperture5453 defined by a second closed-geometry edge 5454. The first and secondapertures 5451, 5453 are horizontally spaced apart from one another andvertically aligned with one another. The rear surface 5401 of thesupport structure 5400 may have one or more channels formed therein thatare aligned with the first and second apertures 5451, 5453 of themounting plate 5450. As a result, a hook or mounting element of thebracket assembly 5500 may be inserted into the apertures 5451, 5453 ofthe mounting plate 5450 and into the channels in the rear surface 5401of the support structure 5400 to couple the bracket assembly 5500 to therear surface 5401 of the support structure 5400 in a manner similar tothat which has been described above with regard to the previouslydescribed embodiments. One difference in this embodiment is that thefirst and second apertures 5451, 5453 of the mounting plate 5450 arehorizontally spaced apart from one another. Thus, the first and secondapertures 5451, 5453 are located on opposite sides of a verticalcenterline U-U of the support structure 5400. The first and secondapertures 5451, 5453 may be aligned with a plane that is transverse tothe vertical centerline U-U. In the exemplified embodiment, the mountingplate 5450 is elongated along an axis M-M that is perpendicular to thevertical centerline U-U of the support structure 5400.

The bracket assembly 5500 comprises a horizontal portion 5501 and avertical portion 5520 extending from the horizontal portion 5501. Thebracket assembly 5500 further comprises first and second mountingelements 5502, 5503, which in the exemplified embodiment are in the formof hooks, extending from a front surface 5504 of the horizontal portion5501 of the bracket assembly 5500. Furthermore, the bracket assembly5500 comprises at least one bracket 5521 extending from a rear surface5522 of the vertical portion 5502. The bracket 5521 is a U-shapedbracket as previously described so that the bracket 5521 may engage atop edge of a door to hang the support structure 5400 from the door.

The bracket assembly 5500 is coupled to the rear surface 5401 of thesupport structure 5400 via slidable engagement between the firstmounting element 5502 of the bracket assembly 5500 and a portion of thefirst closed-geometry edge 5452 of the mounting plate 5450 and slidableengagement between the second mounting element 5503 of the bracketassembly 5500 and a portion of the second closed-geometry edge 5454 ofthe mounting plate 5450. To achieve this engagement, the first mountingelement 5502 is positioned within the first aperture 5451 and the secondmounting element 5503 is positioned within the second aperture 5453, andthen the bracket assembly 5500 is move upwardly to engage the first andsecond mounting elements 5502, 5503 with the first and secondclosed-geometry edges 5452, 5454 of the mounting plate 5450. As bestseen in FIG. 46B, when the bracket assembly 5500 is coupled to thesupport structure 5400, the vertical portion 5520 of the bracketassembly 5500 is aligned with the vertical centerline U-U of the supportstructure 5400.

In this embodiment, the bracket assembly 5500 is also illustrated with alocking feature 5530 to lock the bracket assembly 5500 to the supportstructure 5400 once the mounting elements 5502, 5503 are coupled to themounting plate 5450. In that regard, the locking feature 5530 might be ahook that can be snapped or bent over the profile of the supportstructure 5400 to create a more secure connection between the bracketassembly 5500 and the support structure 5400.

Thus, the bracket assembly 5500 works in a similar manner to thepreviously described bracket assemblies except that it is a singlecomponent that is located in alignment with the vertical centerline ofthe support structure to which it is coupled rather than having twocomponents located on opposite sides of the vertical centerline of thesupport structure. This design eliminates material and might result in acost-savings.

Referring to FIG. 46C, the over-the-door hanging apparatus 5300 isillustrated being supported by a door 10. The bracket 5521 engages thetop edge of the door and the support structure 5400 hangs from thebracket assembly 5500. As with the previous embodiments, in thisembodiment the support structure 5400 supports a mirror 5403, althoughthe invention is not to be so limited and other items might be supportedby the support structure 5400 such as a chalk board, a poster board, acork board, a white board, a poster, or the like.

Referring to FIGS. 47 and 47A, a bracket assembly 5600 for hanging anarticle from a door is illustrated. The bracket assembly 5600 comprisesan elongate member 5610 comprising a front surface 5611 and a rearsurface 5612. A plurality of mounting elements 5620 extend from thefront surface 5611 and a bracket 5630 extends from the rear surface5612. The bracket 5630 is configured to hang the bracket assembly 5600from the top edge of a door as has been previously described herein. Themounting elements 5620 are configured to couple the bracket assembly5600 to a support structure, such as a support structure that supports amirror, a chalkboard, a poster board, a cork board, a white board, orthe like.

The elongate member 5610 is similar to one of the elongate members 151described above with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B except that thestructure of the mounting elements 5620 is different than the shape ofthe hooks 161, 162. The mounting elements 5620 may still be consideredhooks, but they have a different shape than the hooks 161 of theembodiment described earlier in this document. Specifically, in thisembodiment the mounting elements 5620 are wedge-shaped elements. Thebenefit of this shape is that the mounting elements 5620 will tightenthe bracket assembly 5600 onto the support structure as the two are slidtogether. This will help create tension to better secure the supportstructures and the mirrors or other items that they support againstwiggling and rattling.

Each of the mounting elements 5620 extends from a first end 5621 that iscoupled directly to the front surface 5611 of the elongate member 5610to a second end 5622, the second end 5622 being spaced apart from thefront surface 5611 of the elongate member 5610 and forming a free end ofthe mounting element 5620. Each of the mounting elements 5620 iswedge-shaped such that the first end 5621 of the mounting elements 5620that is coupled directly to the front surface 5611 of the elongatemember 5610 is wider than the terminal or free end of the mountingelements 5620. Furthermore, in some embodiments the front surface 5611of the elongate member 5610 may lie on a plane T-T.

The mounting elements 5620 may extend from the front surface 5611 in amanner such that the distance D between the plane T-T and the mountingelements 5620 measured in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinalaxis of the elongate member 5610 increases with distance from the freeend of the mounting elements 5620 towards the point of connectionbetween the mounting elements 5620 and the front surface 5611 of theelongate member 5610. More specifically, in the exemplified embodimentthe mounting elements 5620 have a first portion 5625 that includes thefirst end 5621 and a second portion 5626 that extends from the firstportion 5625 to the second end 5622. The first portion 5625 extendsobliquely to the plane T-T in a direction away from the front surface5611 of the elongate member 5610. The second portion 5626 extendsobliquely from the first portion 5625 in a direction back towards thefront surface 5611 of the elongate member 5610. Thus, for each of themounting elements 5620, the second free end 5622 is located closer tothe front surface 5611 of the elongate member 5610 than the portion ofthe mounting elements 5620 that is located at the intersection orjunction of the first and second portions 5625, 5626.

Referring to FIG. 48, yet another embodiment of a bracket assembly 5700for hanging an article from a door is illustrated. The bracket assembly5700 comprises an elongate member 5710 having a front surface 5711 andan opposite rear surface 5712. The bracket assembly 5700 may includemore than one of the elongate members 5711 in some embodiments as shouldbe appreciated from a full reading of this document. The bracketassembly 5710 comprises a bracket 5720 for hanging the bracket assembly5710 from the top edge of a door and a plurality of mounting elements5730 for coupling the bracket assembly 5710 to a support structure ashas been described in detail herein.

In this embodiment, the bracket assembly 5700 is intended to be auniversal bracket assembly so that it can be coupled to supportstructures having different coupling components, mounting plates, or thelike. In that regard, the mounting elements 5730 of the bracket assembly5700 comprises at least one hook 5731 extending from the front surface5711 of the elongate member 5710, at least one protuberance 5732 havinga different shape than the hook 5731 extending from the front surface5711 of the elongate member 5710, and at least one aperture 5733 formedthrough the elongate member 5710. In this embodiment there are multipleapertures 5733 and only one hook 5731 and one protuberance 5732, but theinvention is not to be so limited in all embodiments and variations inthe number of apertures, protuberances, and hooks may be used inalternative embodiments.

The elongate member extends from a first end 5740 to a second end 5741along a longitudinal axis O-O. In the exemplified embodiment, the hook5731 is located adjacent the first end 5740 of the elongate member 5710such that no mounting elements exist between the hook 5731 and the firstend 5740 of the elongate member 5710. Of course, the specific locationsalong the first elongate member 5710 at which the various hooks 5731,protuberances 5732, and apertures 5733 are located may be modified fromthat which is shown in FIG. 48.

Referring to FIGS. 49A-49C, another embodiment of an over-the-doorhanging apparatus 5800 will be described. The over-the-door hangingapparatus 5800 generally comprises a support structure 5810 having arear surface 5811 and a bracket assembly 5850 configured to hang thesupport structure 5810 from the top edge of a door. The supportstructure 5810 may support a mirror, chalkboard, poster board, corkboard, white board, or the like as previously described. In thisembodiment, the bracket assembly 5850 comprises at least one elongatemember 5860 having at least one mounting element 5861 for coupling thebracket assembly 5850 to the rear surface 5811 of the support structure5810 and at least one bracket 5852 configured to engage the top edge ofthe door. Although only a single elongate member 5860 is depicted, itshould be appreciated that two of the elongate members 5860 arepreferably included in the bracket assembly 5850 as with the previouslydescribed embodiments. In such an embodiment each of the elongatemembers 5860 has at least one mounting element 5851 and at least onebracket 5852. In this manner, the elongate members 5860 are coupled tothe rear surface 5811 of the support structure 5810 on opposite sides ofa vertical centerline P-P of the support structure 5810.

Thus, the bracket assembly 5850 has a similar structure to the bracketassembly 150 described previously with specific reference to FIGS. 1-6and the elongate members 5860 have a similar structure to the elongatemembers 151, 251 previously described with reference to FIGS. 1-6. Theelongate member 5860 extends from a first end 5861 to a second end 5862.In the exemplified embodiment, there is only one mounting element 5851and it is located at the first end 5861 of the elongate member 5860while the bracket 5852 is located at the second end 5862 of the elongatemember 5860. However, the invention is not to be so limited in allembodiments and there could be additional mounting elements positionedalong the elongate member 5860. In some embodiments, the elongate member5860 may have an identical structure to the elongate members 151, 251.In the exemplified embodiment, the at least one mounting element 5851 isa hook and the at least one bracket 5852 is a U-shaped member.

The main difference in this embodiment is that there is no plate securedto the rear surface 5811 of the support structure 5810. Instead, atleast one groove 5812 is formed directly into the rear surface 5811 ofthe support structure 5810. In the exemplified embodiment, there areeight grooves 5812 located on the first side of the vertical centerlineP-P and eight grooves 5812 located on the second side of the verticalcenterline P-P (only six of the eight grooves 5812 on the second side ofthe vertical centerline P-P are visible in the view provided in FIG.49A). Of course, more or less than eight grooves may be used in otherembodiments. For example, the spacing between the grooves may bemodified relative to that which is shown in the exemplified embodiment.Furthermore, the grooves 5812 may be formed into the rear surface 5811of the support structure 5810 along the entire length of the supportstructure 5810 in some embodiments or along only a portion of the lengthof the support structure 5810 in other embodiments.

Each of the grooves 5812 extends from an opening 5813 in the rearsurface 5811 of the support structure 5810 to a floor 5814. Furthermore,each of the grooves 5812 extends along a groove axis G-G that is obliqueto the rear surface 5811 of the support structure 5810. As a result ofthe angle at which the grooves 5812 are formed into the rear surface5811 of the support structure 5810, the floor 5814 of each groove 5812is located closer to a top edge 5815 of the support structure 5810 thanthe opening 5813 of that groove 5812. Thus, the grooves 5812 are angledupwardly towards the top edge 5815 of the support structure 5810 withincreasing distance from the opening 5813 to the floor 5814. Statedanother way, the groove axis G-G gets closer to the top edge 5815 of thesupport structure 5810 the further it extends from the rear surface 5811of the support structure towards the front surface of the supportstructure 5810.

Referring to FIG. 49C, when the bracket assembly 5850 is coupled to thesupport structure 5810, the at least one mounting element 5851 of thebracket assembly 5850 nests within the at least one groove 5812. Becausethere are multiple grooves 5812 and a single mounting element 5851 inthe exemplified embodiment, the bracket assembly 5850 may be coupled tothe support structure 5810 at different locations by inserting themounting element 5851 into different ones of the grooves 5812. This canbe done to adjust the hanging height of the support structure 5810 whenit is hung from a door using the bracket assembly 5850.

In the assembled state, the support structure 5810 hangs from themounting element 5851 of the bracket assembly 5850. Furthermore, thebracket 5852 of the bracket assembly 5850 may slidably engage the topedge of a door to hang the support structure 5810 from the door. Thus,with the bracket 5852 positioned over the top edge of a door and themounting element 5851 of the bracket assembly 5850 nesting within one ofthe grooves 5812 of the support structure 5810, the support structure5810 is supported by or hung from the door.

As noted above, in certain embodiments the bracket assembly 5850comprises two of the elongate members 5860 each having a bracket 5852and at least one mounting element 5851. Furthermore, the supportstructure 5810 may comprise a first set of grooves 5812 located on afirst side of the longitudinal centerline P-P and a second set ofgrooves 5812 located on a second side of the longitudinal centerlineP-P. A first one of the elongate members 5860 may have its at least onemounting element 5851 nest within one of the first set of grooves 5812and a second one of the elongate members 5860 may have its at least onemounting element 5851 nest within one of the second set of grooves 5812while the brackets 5852 of both of the first and second ones of theelongate members 5860 engage the top edge of the door.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 49A-49C, the grooves 5812 are located on therear surface 5811 of the support structure 5810 along the oppositelypositioned vertical edges 5817 of the rear surface 5811 of the supportstructure 5810. Thus, there is an opening into the grooves 5812 locatedalong a peripheral edge 5816 of the support structure 5810. However, asshown in FIG. 50 this is not required in all embodiments and in analternative embodiment the grooves 5912 may be inwardly offset from thevertical edges 5917 of the rear surface 5911 of the support structure5910. This alternative embodiment may be better served to ensure thatthe mounting elements 5851 do not become accidentally disengaged orun-nested from the grooves 5912 once the over-the-door hanging apparatusis fully assembled and coupled to or hanging from a door.

FIG. 51 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a support structure6000 that can be hung from a door using a bracket assembly comprising apair of elongate members such as those depicted in FIGS. 18A and 18B.Again, in this embodiment there is no mounting plate secured to a rearsurface 6001 of the support structure 6000. Rather, in this embodimentthere is at least one multi-width slot 6110 formed into the rear surface6001 of the support structure 6000. More specifically, in theexemplified embodiment the support structure 6000 has a verticalcenterline N-N, a first set of multi-width slots 6110 formed into therear surface 6001 of the support structure 6000 on a first side of thevertical centerline N-N and a second set of multi-width slots 6111formed into the rear surface 6001 of the support structure 6000 on asecond side of the vertical centerline N-N.

As noted above, the bracket assembly may include two of the elongatemembers 851A described above with regard to FIGS. 18A and 18B. In thatregard, the at least one mounting element of the bracket assembly maycomprise hooks or flanged fasteners that are configured to engage withthe multi-width slots 6110 to couple the bracket assembly to the supportstructure 6000. Specifically, the mounting element of the bracketassembly (i.e., one of the flanged fasteners or hooks 881-883) may nestwithin one of the multi-width slots 6110, 6111 to couple the bracketassembly to the support structure 6000. The bracket assembly preferablyincludes two of the elongate members 851A such that the mounting elementof one of the elongate members 851A nests within one of the multi-widthslots 6110 while the mounting element of the other one of the elongatemembers 851A nests within one of the multi-width slots 6111.Furthermore, a bracket of the bracket assembly will engage a top edge ofa door to hang the support structure 6000 from the door as has beendescribed herein with reference to the embodiments previously described.

Although there are many embodiments disclosed herein, some features mayonly be described with regard to one embodiment despite that featurebeing applicable to other of the embodiments disclosed herein. Forexample, the bracket assembly and the elongate members are illustratedin most of the embodiments. However, they are described in varyingdetail in each embodiment. It should be appreciated that the disclosureof one embodiment may be applicable to other embodiments and theomission of a detailed description of some features in some embodimentsmay be done in the interest of brevity.

While the invention has been described with respect to specific examplesincluding presently preferred modes of carrying out the invention, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerous variationsand permutations of the above described systems and techniques. It is tobe understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural andfunctional modifications may be made without departing from the scope ofthe present invention. Thus, the spirit and scope of the inventionshould be construed broadly as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An over-the-door hanging apparatus comprising: asupport structure; a mirror coupled to the support structure and exposedon a front surface of the support structure; a bracket assemblycomprising: at least one mounting element for coupling the bracketassembly to the support structure; at least one bracket configured toengage a top edge of a door; and a decorative portion; and wherein atleast a portion of the decorative portion protrudes from a top edge ofthe support structure when the bracket assembly is coupled to thesupport structure.
 2. The over-the-door hanging apparatus according toclaim 1 wherein the bracket assembly is an integrally formed monolithiccomponent.
 3. The over-the-door hanging apparatus according to claim 1wherein the decorative portion of the bracket assembly is located, atleast in part, between the top edge of the support structure and the topedge of the door.
 4. An over-the-door hanging apparatus comprising: asupport structure; a bracket assembly comprising: at least one mountingelement for coupling the bracket assembly to the support structure; atleast one bracket configured to engage a top edge of a door; and adecorative portion; wherein at least a portion of the decorative portionprotrudes from a top edge of the support structure when the bracketassembly is coupled to the support structure; and wherein the bracketassembly comprises a first elongate member and a second elongate member,wherein the at least one mounting element comprises a first mountingelement located on the first elongate member and a second mountingelement located on the second elongate member, and wherein the first andsecond elongate members are coupled to a rear surface of the supportstructure on opposite sides of a vertical centerline of the supportstructure.
 5. The over-the-door hanging apparatus according to claim 4wherein the decorative portion of the bracket assembly extends, at leastin part, between the first and second elongate members of the bracketassembly.
 6. The over-the-door hanging apparatus according to claim 4wherein a first portion of the decorative portion is integrally formedwith the first elongate member and a second portion of the decorativeportion is integrally formed with the second elongate member, the firstand second portions of the decorative portion being separate from oneanother and collectively forming the decorative portion when the firstand second elongate members are coupled to the rear surface of thesupport structure.
 7. The over-the-door hanging apparatus according toclaim 6 wherein ends of the first and second portions of the decorativeportion abut one another when the first and second elongate members arecoupled to the rear surface of the support structure.
 8. Theover-the-door hanging apparatus according to claim 1 wherein thedecorative portion is located between the at least one mounting elementand the at least one bracket.
 9. An over-the-door hanging apparatuscomprising: a support structure comprising a front surface, a rearsurface, and a perimetric edge extending between the front and rearsurfaces; a bracket assembly comprising: at least one mounting elementfor coupling the bracket assembly to the support structure; and at leastone bracket configured to engage a top edge of a door; and an accessoryhook coupled to the support structure, the accessory hook comprising anarm that protrudes from the perimetric edge of the support structure anda hook member extending from the arm.
 10. The over-the-door hangingapparatus according to claim 9 wherein the hook member is spaced apartfrom the perimetric edge of the support member.
 11. The over-the-doorhanging apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the support structureextends from a bottom end to a top end along a first longitudinal axisand the arm extends along a second longitudinal axis that isperpendicular to the first longitudinal axis.
 12. The over-the-doorhanging apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the perimetric edge ofthe support structure comprises a top edge, a bottom edge opposite thetop edge, a first lateral edge, and a second lateral edge opposite thefirst lateral edge, and wherein the at least one hook member of theaccessory hook is adjacent to and spaced apart from one of the first andsecond lateral edges of the support structure.
 13. The over-the-doorhanging apparatus according to claim 12 wherein the accessory hookcomprises an elongate member having at least one mounting elementthereon for coupling the accessory hook to the rear surface of thesupport structure.
 14. The over-the-door hanging apparatus according toclaim 9 wherein the support structure supports an item selected from thegroup consisting of a mirror, a poster, a chalkboard, a cork board, anda white board.
 15. An over-the-door hanging apparatus comprising: asupport structure comprising a front surface, a rear surface, and aperimetric edge extending between the front and rear surfaces; and anaccessory hook comprising: at least one mounting element for couplingthe accessory hook to the rear surface of the support structure; and atleast one hook member adjacent to and spaced apart from the perimetricedge of the support structure when the accessory hook is coupled to therear surface of the support structure.
 16. The over-the-door hangingapparatus according to claim 15 further comprising: a bracket assemblycomprising: at least one mounting element for coupling the bracketassembly to the rear surface of the support structure; and at least onebracket configured to engage a top edge of a door; and wherein theaccessory hook is a separate component from the bracket assembly. 17.The over-the-door hanging apparatus according to claim 15 furthercomprising a mounting plate secured to the rear surface of the supportstructure, the mounting plate comprising first and second edges that arevertically spaced from one another, and wherein the accessory hook iscoupled to the rear surface of the support structure via slidable matingbetween the first edge of the mounting plate and the at least onemounting element of the accessory hook.
 18. The over-the-door hangingapparatus according to claim 15 wherein the accessory hook furthercomprises: an elongate member that comprises the at least one mountingelement; an arm coupled to the elongate member and extending from theelongate member to the at least one hook member; and wherein a portionof the arm of the accessory hook protrudes from the perimetric edge ofthe support structure to maintain a space between the hook member andthe perimetric edge of the support structure.
 19. The over-the-doorhanging apparatus according to claim 15 wherein the accessory hookcomprises an arm extending from a first end to a second end, and whereinthe at least one mounting element extends from the first end of the armand the at least one hook member extends from the second end of the arm.20. The over-the-door hanging apparatus according to claim 15 furthercomprising a mirror coupled to the support structure.